globe

globe spherical map of the earth (terrestrial globe) or the sky (celestial globe). The terrestrial globe provides the only graphic representation of the areas of the earth without significant distortion or inaccuracy in shape, direction, or relative size. However, the flattening of the earth at the poles and its slight bulge below the equator are normally disregarded in the construction of a globe. Probably the earliest globe was constructed by the Greek geographer Crates of Mallus in the 2d cent. BC Few attempts were made to construct globes in the Middle Ages, although Strabo and Ptolemy, at the beginning of the Christian era, had formulated precise and detailed instructions for doing so. The first globes of modern times were made in the late 15th cent. by Martin Behaim of Nuremberg and Leonardo da Vinci. One of the earliest globes constructed (1506) after the discovery of America is in the New York Public Library. A celestial globe is a model of the celestial sphere intended primarily to show the positions of the stars.

globe / glōb/ • n. 1. (the globe) the earth: collecting goodies from all over the globe. ∎  a spherical representation of the earth or of the constellations with a map on the surface. 2. a spherical or rounded object: orange trees clipped into giant globes. ∎  a glass sphere protecting a light. ∎  a drinking glass shaped approximately like a sphere: a brandy globe. ∎  a golden orb as an emblem of sovereignty. • v. [tr.] poetic/lit. form (something) into a globe. DERIVATIVES: globe·like / -ˌlīk/ adj. glo·boid / ˈglōboid/ adj. & n. glo·bose / ˈglōbōs/ adj.

globe a globe is the emblem of St Louis.
globe of fire the emblem of St Martin of Tours.
Globe Theatre a theatre in Southwark, London, erected in 1599, where many of Shakespeare's plays were first publicly performed by Richard Burbage and his company. Shakespeare had a share in the theatre and also acted there; it has been suggested that the reference in Prospero's speech in The Tempest to ‘the great globe itself’ may contain a punning allusion to the theatre.

The theatre caught fire in 1613 from a discharge of stage gunfire during a play, and was destroyed, although it was rebuilt in 1614 and used until all London theatres were closed on the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. Its site was rediscovered in 1989 and a reconstruction of the original theatre was opened in 1997.