globus

Latin · noun
Edited by: Kierán Meinhardt
Last edited: 2026-08-30
Meanings
Literal translation
ball
Categories
geometrical shape
meteorological phenomenon
Related Lemmata 5 ›

1. sphere

1.a sphere geometrical shape,

[...] quid novem illi globi [...] facerent

‘[...] what the nine spheres do’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 1.0.5

Genre: astrological compendium Provenance: Sicily Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 1.2

The nine spheres being: earth itself, the seven planets, the fixed stars.

2. ball

2.a ball meteorological phenomenon

fireball phenomenon

Interim illud existimo eiusmodi ignes existere aere vehementius trito, cum inclinatio eius in alteram partem facta est et non cessit, sed inter se pugnavit; ex hac vexatione nascuntur trabes et globi et faces et ardores.

‘For the time being, I guess this: fires of this sort come into existence because the atmosphere undergoes severe friction when there has been a tilting of it to one side and there is no yielding, only internal struggle. From this vexation are produced fiery shapes, the so-called Boards, Balls, Torches, and Blazes.’

— Seneca, Natural Questions 1.1.5

Genre: philosophy Date: 62/63 CE

Seneca. Natural Questions, Volume I: Books 1-3. Translated by Thomas H. Corcoran. Loeb Classical Library 450. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. 16-17

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). globus (Lemma #822). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). globus (Lemma #822). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2026). globus (Lemma #822). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2026) globus (Lemma #822), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/ (Accessed: November 5, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac822,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-11-05]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2026},
	title = {globus ({Lemma} #822)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/822/},
}