I. Ptol ‧ e ‧ my 1 /ˈtɒləmi $ ˈtɑː-/ BrE AmE
(?AD100-AD170) a Greek ↑ astronomer and ↑ mathematician who lived and worked in Egypt. He studied the stars, and believed that the Earth was at the centre of the universe, and that the stars, the sun, and the ↑ planet s all travelled in circles around the Earth. This idea is known as the Ptolemaic System, and it was generally believed to be true until Nicholas ↑ Copernicus proved that it was wrong at the beginning of the 16th century.
II. Ptolemy 2 BrE AmE
the name used by the family of kings who ruled Egypt from the 4th century BC to the lst century BC