Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural an·a·lem·mas, an·a·lem·ma·ta [an-l-em–uh-tuh] /ˌæn lˈɛm ə tə/.
- a scale shaped like the figure 8, showing the declination of the sun and the equation of time for each day of the year.
noun plural -mas or -mata (-mətə)
- a graduated scale shaped like a figure eight that indicates the daily declination of the sun
1650s, from Latin analemma “the pedestal of a sundial,” hence the sundial itself, from Greek analemma “prop, support,” from analambanein “to receive, take up, restore,” from ana- “up” (see ana-) + lambanein “to take,” from PIE root *(s)lagw- “to seize, take” (cf. Sanskrit labhate, rabhate “seizes;” Old English læccan “to seize, grasp;” Greek lazomai “I take, grasp;” Old Church Slavonic leca “to catch, snare;” Lithuanian lobis “possession, riches”).