Definition of Mercator

1. Noun. Flemish geographer who lived in Germany; he invented the Mercator projection of maps of the globe (1512-1594).

Exact synonyms: Gerardus Mercator, Gerhard Kremer
Generic synonyms: Geographer

Definition of Mercator

1. Noun. (chiefly attributive) Pertaining to an orthomorphic map projection, in which meridians appear at right-angles to the equator, and lines of latitude are horizontal lines whose distance from each other increases with distance from the equator. ¹

2. Noun. Such a projection or chart. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Mercator

Menyanthes trifoliata
Menziesia
Menziesia ferruginea
Menziesia pilosa
Mephaquine
Mephistophelean
Mephistopheles
Mephitinae
Mephitis
Mephitis macroura
Mephitis mephitis
Meprin
Meralgia paraesthetica
Merc
Mercalli scale
Mercator (current term)
Mercator's projection
Mercator projection
Mercatorian
Merce Cunningham
Mercedario
Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercenaria mercenaria
Mercia
Mercian
Mercians
Mercier
Mercier's bar
Mercier's sound

Literary usage of Mercator

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1886)
"ERARD Mercator, the distinguished geographer and si thor of the system of ... The name by which he is known, Mercator, is a translation into Latin of his ..."

2. The Works of Alexander Hamilton by Alexander Hamilton (1904)
"CIVIS TO Mercator September 5, 1792. Certain Treasury documents were lately published for the information of the community, without any precise designation ..."

3. Narrative and Critical History of America by Justin Winsor (1886)
"The same map was reproduced on a different projection by Rumold Mercator in 1587, ... The facts seem to be that Mercator conceived the principle, ..."

4. Notes and Queries by Martim de Albuquerque (1852)
"But to say the Mercator is mine is fuse. I never was the author of it, nor had the property, printing, or profit of it. I had never any payment or reward ..."

5. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: “a” Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature edited by Hugh Chisholm (1911)
"In 1554 Mercator published his great map of Europe in six sheets, ... Herein, though still greatly under Ptolemy's influence, Mercator begins to emancipate ..."

6. The Historical Writings of John Fiske by John Fiske (1902)
"Gerard Kaufmann, better known by his latinized name Mercator, was a native of ... Upon the gores for a globe which he made in 1541, Mercator represented the ..."

7. The Principles and Practice of Surveying by Charles Blaney Breed, George Leonard Hosmer (1908)
"The Mercator projection (Fig. 132) is a modification of the simple ... In the Mercator chart, which is much used in navigation, the parallels are so spaced ..."

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