n.
- a book of maps or charts.
- Anatomy the topmost vertebra of the backbone, articulating with the occipital bone of the skull.
(pl. atlantes
/atˈlantiːz/
)
Architecture a stone carving of a male figure, used as a column to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.
Etymology
C16: via L. from Gk Atlas, the Greek god who held up the pillars of the universe, whose picture appeared at the front of early atlases.