epicycle
epi·cycle
noun
1.
a circle that rolls around (inside or outside) another circle; generates an epicycloid or hypocycloid
Origin
From Latin epicyclus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίκυκλος (epíkuklos), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”). The ad hoc complication sense is a generalization from the archetype supplied by the Ptolemaic astronomy sense.
Phrases
- ad hoc hypothesis
- Heath Robinson contraption
- Rube Goldberg machine
Related words
Broader terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.