atlas

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atlas^¹

/ˈætləs/ UK
/ˈætlɪs/ UK, sometimes
/ˈætləs/ US
/ˈæʈ.ləs/ South Asia
/ˈəʈ.ləs/ South Asia

Sounds like Atlas · Rhymes with -ætləs

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin Atlas, from the name of the Ancient Greek mythological figure Ἄτλας (Átlas, “Bearer (of the Heavens)”), from τλῆναι (tlênai, “to suffer”, “to endure”, “to bear”). The sense referring to books of maps comes from the Atlas of Mercator, which he named thus in honor of Atlas, who was supposed to be skillful in astronomy and the doctrine of the sphere. The sense referring to the vertebra reflects that the spine carries the globe of the cranium (the neck carries the head).

noun atlases · atlantes

A bound collection of maps often including tables, illustrations or other text.
A bound collection of tables, illustrations, etc. on any given subject.
especially, in anatomy, of the human body A detailed visual conspectus of something of great and multi-faceted complexity, with its elements splayed so as to be presented in as discrete a manner as possible whilst retaining a realistic view of the whole. An Anatomical Atlas of Vegetable Powders Designed as an Aid to the Microscopic Analysis of Powdered Foods and Drugs
A family of coordinate charts that cover a manifold.
The uppermost vertebra of the cervical spine in the neck in humans and some other animals. There are of these glands upon the first vertebra of the neck of the atlas; on which the head turns[…]
Similar: atlanto-, atlo-
One who supports a heavy burden; mainstay.
A figure of a man used as a column.
Similar: atlantid, telamon
A sheet of paper measuring 26 inches by 34 inches.
An image or texture containing a number of other images or textures, so as to reduce the cost of loading them separately. a glyph atlas used in font rendering

atlas^²

/ˈætləs/ UK
/ˈætlɪs/ UK, sometimes
/ˈætləs/ US
/ˈæʈ.ləs/ South Asia
/ˈəʈ.ləs/ South Asia

Sounds like Atlas · Rhymes with -ætləs

Where it comes from

From Arabic أَطْلَس (ʔaṭlas, “satin”).

noun atlases · atlasses

countable, historical, uncountable A rich satin fabric. I saw ye Taffaties and Atlasses in ye warehouse, and gave directions concerning their severall colours and stripes, ordering Mr. Charnock to use his best endeavours to encrease their quantity; […]

Atlas^³

/ˈætləs/

Sounds like atlas · Rhymes with -ætləs

Where it comes from

From Latin Ā̆tlās, from Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), either from ἁ- (ha-, copulative prefix) + Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“bear, undergo, endure”) or of Pre-Greek origin.

proper noun Atlases

Greek, countable, uncountable The son of Iapetus and Clymene, war leader of the Titans ordered by the god Zeus to support the sky on his shoulders; father to the Hesperides, the Hyades, and the Pleiades; king of the legendary Atlantis.
countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Pike County, Illinois.
countable, uncountable A township in Genesee County, Michigan.
countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Lamar County, Texas.
countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia.
countable, uncountable An unincorporated community in Laketown, Polk County, Wisconsin.
countable, uncountable A moon of Saturn.
countable, uncountable A crater in the last quadrant of the moon.
countable, uncountable A triple star system in the Pleiades open cluster (M45) also known as 27 Tauri.
countable A surname.
US, countable, uncountable An SM-65, an early ICBM, soon developed into a long-lived orbital launch vehicle series.

noun Atlases

US A particular model or individual specimen of the Atlas missile and launch vehicle line.

Atlas^⁴

/ˈætləs/

Sounds like atlas · Rhymes with -ætləs

Where it comes from

From French Atlas. From the Ancient Greek Ἄτλας (Átlas), stemming from the belief that the mountain range is actually the body of the Titan Atlas after being turned to stone. The Berber languages exist in the region of the Atlas Mountains.

proper noun Atlases

A subgroup of the Berber languages.
abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of Atlas Mountains

Atlas^⁵

/ˈætləs/

Sounds like atlas · Rhymes with -ætləs

Where it comes from

Alteration of ATLAS

proper noun

alternative Alternative form of ATLAS

ATLAS^⁶

proper noun

abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (a robotic astronomical survey and early warning system optimized for detecting smaller near-Earth objects)
A comet, an interstellar object visiting the Solar System, on a hyperbolic orbit. Named after the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System.
Similar: Atlas, 3I/ATLAS, 3I/Atlas

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: telamon, atlas vertebra, map collection, dtv, system, centaur, agena, atlases, ozp, gazetteer, map, charts, cartograph, cartography, planisphere, topograph

Translations

Every language

noun bound collection of maps

Español	atlas
한국어	지도책 jidochaek
日本語	地図帳 chizuchō
中文	地圖集 /地图集 dìtújí, 地圖冊 /地图册 dìtúcè
हिन्दी	मानचित्रावली māncitrāvlī, एटलस eṭlas, अटलस aṭlas
Kiswahili	atlasi
Português	atlas
Français	atlas
Deutsch	Atlas
Italiano	atlante
Ελληνικά	άτλας átlas, άτλαντας átlantas
Română	atlas
Русский	а́тлас átlas
Tiếng Việt	tập bản đồ, át-lát
العربية	أَطْلَس ʔaṭlas
עברית	אַטְלָס atlas

noun bound collection of tables, illustrations, etc., on any subject

한국어	도록 dorok
日本語	図録 zuroku
中文	圖解集 /图解集 tújiějí
Deutsch	Atlas
Ελληνικά	άτλας átlas
Русский	а́тлас átlas

noun (differential geometry, topology) family of coordinate maps that cover a manifold

Deutsch	Atlas

noun (anatomy) The uppermost vertebra of the neck

Español	atlas
한국어	환추 hwanchu, 제1목뼈 je1mokppyeo
日本語	環椎 kantsui, 第一頚椎 daiichi keitsui
中文	寰椎 huánzhuī, 第一頸椎 /第一颈椎
Português	atlas
Deutsch	Atlas
Italiano	atlante
Ελληνικά	άτλας átlas, άτλαντας átlantas
Русский	атла́нт atlánt

noun one who supports a heavy burden; mainstay

中文	身負重擔的人 /身负重担的人
Deutsch	Atlas
Ελληνικά	άτλας átlas
Русский	Атла́нт Atlánt, атла́нт atlánt

noun (architecture) a figure of a man used as a column; telamon

中文	男像柱 nánxiàngzhù
Deutsch	Atlant, Atlas
Ελληνικά	άτλας átlas
Русский	атла́нт atlánt

noun satin fabric — see also satin

Русский	атла́с atlás
العربية	أَطْلَس ʔaṭlas

name Greek mythology

Español	Atlas, Atlante
Português	Atlas
Français	Atlas
Deutsch	Atlas
Italiano	Atlante
Ελληνικά	Άτλας Átlas
Русский	А́тлас Átlas, Атла́нт Atlánt
العربية	أَطْلَس ʔaṭlas

name a moon of Saturn

中文	土衛十五 /土卫十五 Tǔwèishíwǔ
Português	Atlas
Français	Atlas
Deutsch	Atlas

name a crater of the moon

Français	Atlas
Deutsch	Atlas

name a star in the Pleiades

हिन्दी	वर्षयंती तारा varṣayantī tārā

name intercontinental ballistic missile

Deutsch	Atlas

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"atlas." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/atlas. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

atlas. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/atlas

Chicago

"atlas." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/atlas.

BibTeX

@misc{atlas_2026,
  title = {atlas},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/atlas},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

atlas

AI In plain words

atlas¹

Where it comes from

noun atlases · atlantes

atlas²

Where it comes from

noun atlases · atlasses

Atlas³

Where it comes from

proper noun Atlases

noun Atlases

Atlas⁴

Where it comes from

proper noun Atlases

Atlas⁵

Where it comes from

proper noun

ATLAS⁶

proper noun

Thesaurus

Translations

noun bound collection of maps

noun bound collection of tables, illustrations, etc., on any subject

noun (differential geometry, topology) family of coordinate maps that cover a manifold

noun (anatomy) The uppermost vertebra of the neck

noun one who supports a heavy burden; mainstay

noun (architecture) a figure of a man used as a column; telamon

noun satin fabric — see also satin

name Greek mythology

name a moon of Saturn

name a crater of the moon

name a star in the Pleiades

name intercontinental ballistic missile

atlas^¹

atlas^²

Atlas^³

Atlas^⁴

Atlas^⁵

ATLAS^⁶