Pythagorean system
Astronomy
noun
The cosmological system associated with Pythagoras (often ascribed to the Pythagorean Philolaus of Croton), in which the earth, the other planets, and the sun orbit a central fire and there is another object (a counter-earth) in orbit between the earth and the central fire.
- The system has occasionally been confused with the Copernican system..
Origin
Late 17th century; earliest use found in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.