Mappemounde

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medieval circular map depicting the known world, typically arranged with Jerusalem at the center and surrounded by the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe
2. A world map from the Middle Ages organized in a circular form with religious and geographical significance, showing the distribution of land and water as understood in that era
3. A round medieval representation of Earth's geography, commonly featuring a T-shape dividing the continents with water boundaries and often containing biblical or symbolic elements

Etymology: The "map" in mappemounde comes from Latin "mappa," which meant a cloth or napkin. Medieval Latin speakers also used "mappa" for a painted cloth or sheet, and from that sense came the idea of a drawn picture of the land. The compound "mappa mundi" meant "cloth of the world," and it named the large medieval depictions of the known world, many of them painted on vellum or cloth. The second word, "mundi," is the genitive of Latin "mundus," meaning "world" or "universe." Old French then shaped the phrase into "mapemonde," and English took it up as "mappemounde," a term for a world map. Early English usage was largely confined to such maps and to Christian cosmographic images, so the term stayed closely tied to that medieval tradition rather than to general cartography.