| Gregorian | a. [ NL. Gregorianus, fr. Gregorius Gregory, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. grégorien. ] Pertaining to, or originated by, some person named Gregory, especially one of the popes of that name. [ 1913 Webster ]
Gregorian calendar, the calendar as reformed by Pope Gregory XIII. in 1582, including the method of adjusting the leap years so as to harmonize the civil year with the solar, and also the regulation of the time of Easter and the movable feasts by means of epochs. See Gregorian year (below). --
Gregorian chant (Mus.), plain song, or canto fermo, a kind of unisonous music, according to the eight celebrated church modes, as arranged and prescribed by Pope Gregory I. (called “the Great”) in the 6th century. --
Gregorian modes, the musical scales ordained by Pope Gregory the Great, and named after the ancient Greek scales, as Dorian, Lydian, etc. --
Gregorian telescope (Opt.), a form of reflecting telescope, named from Prof. James Gregory, of Edinburgh, who perfected it in 1663. A small concave mirror in the axis of this telescope, having its focus coincident with that of the large reflector, transmits the light received from the latter back through a hole in its center to the eyepiece placed behind it. --
Gregorian year, the year as now reckoned according to the Gregorian calendar. Thus, every year, of the current reckoning, which is divisible by 4, except those divisible by 100 and not by 400, has 366 days; all other years have 365 days. See Bissextile, and Note under Style, n., 7. [ 1913 Webster ]
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| Phantasmagoria | n. [ NL., from Gr. fa`ntasma a phantasm + 'agora` an assembly, fr. 'agei`rein to gather: cf. F. phantasmagorie. ] 1. An optical effect produced by a magic lantern. The figures are painted in transparent colors, and all the rest of the glass is opaque black. The screen is between the spectators and the instrument, and the figures are often made to appear as in motion, or to merge into one another. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. The apparatus by which such an effect is produced. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. Fig.: A medley of figures; illusive images. “This mental phantasmagoria.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ] |
