Copernican

adjective

Co·per·ni·can kə-ˈpər-ni-kən

kō-

: of or relating to Copernicus or the belief that the earth rotates daily on its axis and the planets revolve in orbits around the sun

: of radical or major importance or degree

… effected a Copernican revolution in philosophy.—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Copernican noun

Copernicanism

kə-ˈpər-ni-kə-ˌni-zəm

kō-

noun

Examples of Copernican in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Galileo Galilei, who, in 1632, published a book supporting the Copernican theory that the Earth revolves around the sun, was accused of heresy, obliged to recant, and condemned to house arrest. — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 28 July 2025 The shifts required for sustained value creation amount to a Copernican revolution in management. — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025 The Copernican revolution told us Earth is not the center of the solar system. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, 25 June 2024 In 1610, aided by the emergence of telescopes, Galileo Galilei famously observed Jupiter's four largest moons, thereby bolstering the Copernican heliocentric model of the solar system. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 June 2024 See All Example Sentences for Copernican

Word History

Etymology

Nicolaus Copernicus

First Known Use

1667, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of Copernican was in 1667

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

coper

Copernican

copernican system

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Copernican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Copernican. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Copernican

adjective

Co·per·ni·can kō-ˈpər-ni-kən

kə-

: of or relating to Copernicus or his theory that the earth rotates daily on its axis and the planets revolve in orbits around the sun

Copernican

adjective

Examples of Copernican in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes