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Webster 1913 Edition

Orrery

Or′re-ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Orreries
(#)
.
[So named in honor of the Earl of
Orrery
.]
An apparatus which illustrates, by the revolution of balls moved by wheelwork, the relative size, periodic motions, positions, orbits, etc., of bodies in the solar system.

Webster 1828 Edition

Orrery

OR'RERY

,
Noun.
A machine so constructed as to represent by the movements of its parts, the motions and phases of the planets in their orbits. This machine was invented by George Graham, but Rowley, a workman, borrowed one from him, and made a copy for the earl of Orrery, after whom it was named by Sir Richard Steele. similar machines are called also planetariums.

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