Anomalies

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Anomaly \A*nom"a*ly\, n.; pl. {Anomalies}. [L. anomalia, Gr. ?.
     See {Anomalous}.]
     1. Deviation from the common rule; an irregularity; anything
        anomalous.
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              We are enabled to unite into a consistent whole the
              various anomalies and contending principles that are
              found in the minds and affairs of men. --Burke.
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              As Professor Owen has remarked, there is no greater
              anomaly in nature than a bird that can not fly.
                                                    --Darwin.
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     2. (Astron.)
        (a) The angular distance of a planet from its perihelion,
            as seen from the sun. This is the true anomaly. The
            eccentric anomaly is a corresponding angle at the
            center of the elliptic orbit of the planet. The mean
            anomaly is what the anomaly would be if the planet's
            angular motion were uniform.
        (b) The angle measuring apparent irregularities in the
            motion of a planet.
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     3. (Nat. Hist.) Any deviation from the essential
        characteristics of a specific type.
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