Hypertext Webster Gateway: "orbit"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Orbit \Or"bit\, n. [L. orbita a track or rut made by a wheel,
course, circuit, fr. orbis a circle: cf. F. orbite. See 2d
{Orb}.]
1. (Astron.) The path described by a heavenly body in its
periodical revolution around another body; as, the orbit
of Jupiter, of the earth, of the moon.
2. An orb or ball. [Rare & Improper]
Roll the lucid orbit of an eye. --Young.
3. (Anat.) The cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye
and its appendages are situated.
4. (Zo["o]l.) The skin which surrounds the eye of a bird.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
orbit
n 1: the (usually elliptical) path described by one celestial
body in its revolution about another; "he plotted the
orbit of the moon" [syn: {celestial orbit}]
2: a particular environment or walk of life; "his social sphere
is limited"; "it was a closed area of employment"; "he's
out of my orbit" [syn: {sphere}, {domain}, {area}, {field},
{arena}]
3: an area in which something acts or operates or has power or
control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; "the ambit of
municipal legislation"; "within the compass of this
article"; within the scope of an investigation"; "outside
the reach of the law"; "in the political orbit of a world
power" [syn: {scope}, {range}, {reach}, {compass}, {ambit}]
4: the path of an electron around the nucleus of an atom [syn:
{electron orbit}]
5: the bony cavity in the skull containing the eyeball [syn: {eye
socket}, {cranial orbit}, {orbital cavity}]
v : move in an orbit, as of celestial bodies: "The moon orbits
around the Earth"; "The planets are orbiting the sun"
[syn: {revolve}]
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