The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pythagorean \Pyth`a*go"re*an\,
[L. Pythagoreus, Gr. ?.] Of or pertaining to Pythagoras (a Greek philosopher, born about 582
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), or his philosophy.
The central thought of the Pythagorean philosophy is the idea of number, the recognition of the numerical and mathematical relations of things.
--Encyc. Brit.Pythagorean proposition (Geom.), the theorem that the square described upon the hypothenuse of a plane right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares described upon the other two sides.
Pythagorean system (Astron.), the commonly received system of astronomy, first taught by Pythagoras, and afterward revived by Copernicus, whence it is also called the Copernican system.
Pythagorean letter. See Y.
Usage examples of "pythagorean system".
It is manifestly but one system, which divided into two branches, one extending to the east, and the other to the west, assumed two different forms: Its principal trunk is the Pythagorean system of the soul of the world, or Iou-piter.