OBSERVATORY • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Observatory

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/əbzˈərvətˌɔri/ Listen

Observatory

noun

(pl. observatories)

A building designed and equipped to observe astronomical phenomena.

A structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings. Synonyms: lookout, lookout station, observation tower.

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Etymology of 'Observatory'

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"Observatory" Quotes from Famous Books

... living the life of a recluse in his own observatory, which was situated in a lonely part of the country, had, or at any rate, believed that he had, opened up a communication with the inhabitants of Mars, by means of powerful electric lights, flashing in the manner of a signal-lantern or heliograph. I had ...

— A Trip to Venus • John Munro

... implies that the Institute is pledged to a foregone conclusion, that it is a workshop devoted to the production of a particular kind of article. Moreover, I should say that as a matter of prudence, you had better keep clear of the word "experimental." Would not "Biological Observatory" serve the turn? Of course it does not exclude experiment any more than "Astronomical Observatory" ...

— The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley Volume 3 • Leonard Huxley

... of the kind. The Ecelino prisons were destroyed when the Crusaders took Padua, with the exception of the tower, which the Venetian Republic converted into an observatory." ...

— Italian Journeys • William Dean Howells

... first. Our base of operations will be the largest planet of that group of brilliant green suns, for they can be seen from any point in the Galaxy and are almost in the exact center of it. Our astronomers," here the captain's thoughts shifted briefly to an observatory far out in space for perfect seeing, and portrayed a reflecting telescope with a mirror five miles in diameter, capable of penetrating unimaginable myriads of light-years into space, "have tabulated all the suns, planets, ...

— Skylark Three • Edward Elmer Smith

... heights, so vast that everything else is dwarfed beside them, and yet so curiously airy that they seem to perpetually ripple against the sky. The Great Blue Hill, especially—the one which bears an observatory on its summit—swims above one's head. It seems to have a singular way of moving from point to point as one motors, and although one may be forced to admit that this may be due more to the winding roads than ...

— The Old Coast Road - From Boston to Plymouth • Agnes Rothery

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