atlas
The origin and history of atlas.
Etymology
From the Titan Atlas in Greek myth, condemned to carry the sky on his shoulders. The mapmaker Mercator used an image of Atlas holding the globe on the cover of his 16th-century map collection, and the name stuck for any book of maps.
Class of 1500
atlas first entered the language around 1500. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1500 →