What does metonic cycle mean?

Definitions for metonic cycle
meton·ic cy·cle

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word metonic cycle.


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Wiktionary

  1. Metonic cyclenoun

    A particular approximate common multiple of the tropical year and the synodic month; in other words, the 19-year period over which the lunar phases occur on the same dates.

Wikipedia

  1. Metonic cycle

    The Metonic cycle or enneadecaeteris (from Ancient Greek: ἐννεακαιδεκαετηρίς, from ἐννεακαίδεκα, "nineteen") is a period of almost exactly 19 years after which the lunar phases recur at the same time of the year. The recurrence is not perfect, and by precise observation the Metonic cycle defined as 235 synodic months is just 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds longer than 19 tropical years. Meton of Athens, in the 5th century BC, judged the cycle to be a whole number of days, 6,940. Using these whole numbers facilitates the construction of a lunisolar calendar. A tropical year is longer than 12 lunar months and shorter than 13 of them. The arithmetic identity 12×12 + 7×13 = 235 shows that a combination of 12 "short" years (12 months) and 7 "long" years (13 months) will be almost exactly equal to 19 solar years.

Wikidata

  1. Metonic cycle

    For astronomy and calendar studies, the Metonic cycle or Enneadecaeteris is a period of very close to 19 years which is remarkable for being nearly a common multiple of the solar year and the synodic month. The Greek astronomer Meton of Athens observed that a period of 19 years is almost exactly equal to 235 synodic months, and rounded to full days counts 6940 days. The difference between the two periods is only a few hours, depending on the definition of the year. Considering a year to be ¹⁄19 of this 6940-day cycle gives a year length of 365 + ¹⁄4 + ¹⁄76 days, which is slightly more than 12 synodic months. To keep a 12-month lunar year in pace with the solar year, an intercalary 13th month would have to be added on seven occasions during the nineteen-year period. Meton introduced the cycle in circa 432 BC, but it was actually known earlier by Babylonian astronomers. Mechanical computation of the cycle is built into the Antikythera mechanism. The cycle was used in the Babylonian calendar, ancient Chinese calendar systems, the medieval computus and still regulates the 19-year cycle of intercalary months of the Hebrew calendar.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. metonic cycle

    A cycle of 19 years, which contains 235 lunations, and results in a correspondence of the solar and lunar years. The discovery of this astronomical period may be safely assigned to Meton in 432 B.C.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of metonic cycle in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of metonic cycle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1


Translations for metonic cycle

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  • मेटॉनिक चक्रHindi

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"metonic cycle." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/metonic+cycle>.

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