Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

Copernicus

Proper Noun

/kəˈpɜrnɪkəs/

Definition

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at its center.

Examples

Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
His work laid the foundation for modern astronomy.
Copernicus’s ideas were controversial and faced significant opposition from the church.

Meaning

The term ‘Copernicus’ often refers to his revolutionary theory regarding heliocentrism, which challenged the geocentric models of the universe commonly believed before his time.