DEFERENT (Lat. deferens, bearing down), in ancient astronomy, the mean orbit of a planet, which carried the epicycle in which the planet revolved. It is now known to correspond to the actual orbit of the planet round the sun.
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DEFERENT (Lat. deferens, bearing down), in ancient astronomy, the mean orbit of a planet, which carried the epicycle in which the planet revolved. It is now known to correspond to the actual orbit of the planet round the sun.