I. ˈatləs noun
( -es ; see sense 4 )
Etymology: after Atlas, a Titan of Greek mythology often represented as bearing the heavens on his shoulders, from Latin Atlant-, Atlas, from Greek
1. usually capitalized : one who bears a heavy burden : chief supporter : mainstay
2.
[from New Latin Atlas, title of a cartographical work (published in 1595) by Gerhardus Mercator (Gerhard Kremer) died 1594 Flemish geographer; probably from the fact that the title pages of cartographical works of this period often had a representation of Atlas bearing the heavens]
a. : a bound collection of maps
a glance at the atlas showed that the city is near the coast
b. : a bound collection of tables, charts, or plates illustrating any subject
an atlas of peripheral nerve injuries
a chromosome atlas
an atlas of climatic charts
3.
[New Latin, from Greek, after Atlas, the Titan]
: the first cervical vertebra articulating immediately with the skull and thus sustaining the globe of the head
4. plural usually at·lan·tes ətˈlan(ˌ)tēz, atˈ-, -aan-
[Greek, after Atlas, the Titan]
: a figure or half figure of a man used as a column to support an entablature — called also telamon ; compare caryatid
[s]atlas.jpg[/s] [
atlas 4
]
II. noun
( -es )
Etymology: Arabic aṭlas
: a rich satin made in the Far East