epicycle

Definition

A small circle whose centre is on the circumference of a larger circle; in Ptolemaic astronomy it was seen as the basis of revolution of the "seven planets", given a fixed central Earth.

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

• "Is it not [Philosophie], that […] teacheth miserie, famine and sicknesse to laugh? Not by reason of some imaginarie Epicicles, but by naturall and palpable reasons."
• "If two chronicles seemed contradictory, instead of trying to choose between them, a rationalization (epicycle) was devised to cover both."
• "Rather than solve the theoretical problem of how to produce a method of political ethics, the contractarian device introduces an unnecessary theoretical epicycle into what is otherwise a coherent account of social justice in particular and political morality in general."