heliocentricism

English

Etymology

heliocentric +‎ -ism < from Greek ηλιοκεντρικός (heliokentrikos) "having the sun as his centre", from ancient Greek ήλιος (helios) "sun" + κέντρον (kentron) "centre".

Noun

heliocentricism (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of heliocentrism
   • 1869, William Howard Ward, editor, Review of “l’Abbé D. Bouix, La Condamnation de Galilée” in “Notices of Books” in The Dublin Review Volume 64, 224:

     And as to Copernicus, he declared most expressly in his preface that he spoke of Heliocentricism as a pure hypothesis; the imagination of which was useful for the calculation of planetary orbits, but which “need not be true or even probable,” i.e., resting on any solid ground whatever.

   • 1907, Gerald Cator, “The Structure of Reality” in Mind: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy Volume 16, ed. G. F. Stout, 58

     I do not say for example that Heliocentricism is no truer than Geocentricism, but is only a simpler hypothesis.

Usage notes

This is the form recognized by many dictionaries as grammatically correct. However, in current usage "heliocentrism" appears to be by far more frequently used. According to a Google Books search it seems that "heliocentrism" began to gain ground in the turn of 1960s and 1970s with the first occurrence taking place in 1930s.

Translations

heliocentrism — see heliocentrism