Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or constituting a synopsis; presenting a summary of the principal parts or a general view of the whole.
  • adjective Taking the same point of view.
  • adjective Relating to or being the first three gospels of the New Testament, which share content, style, and order of events and which differ largely from John.
  • adjective Meteorology Of or relating to data obtained nearly simultaneously over a large area of the atmosphere.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Affording a synopsis or general view of the whole or of the principal parts of a subject: as, a synoptic table; a synoptic history.
  • noun One of the synoptic gospels; also, one of the writers of the synoptic gospels; a synoptist.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Affording a general view of the whole, or of the principal parts of a thing.
  • noun One of the first three Gospels of the New Testament. See synoptist.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, or relating to a synopsis
  • adjective In general, pertaining to or affording an overall view. In meteorology, this term has become somewhat specialized in referring to the use of meteorological data obtained simultaneously over a wide area for presenting a comprehensive and nearly instantaneous picture of the state of the atmosphere. Thus, to a meteorologist, synoptic takes the additional connotation of simultaneity.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective presenting or taking the same point of view; used especially with regard to the first three gospels of the New Testament
  • adjective presenting a summary or general view of a whole

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek sunoptikos, from sunopsis, general view; see synopsis.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From New Latin synopticus, from Ancient Greek συνοπτικός (sunoptikos, "seeing the whole together or at a glance"), from σύνοψις (sunopsis, "a general view, synopsis"), from σύν (sun, "with") + ὄψις (opsis, "view").

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Examples

  • On the one hand, many AGW skeptics are told not to confuse short term synoptic weather patterns with long term climate trends; on the other hand, when short term climate trends coincide with AGW theories they immediatly make headline news see the 2005 Hurricane Season as a prime example.

    Road Map « Climate Audit 2005

  • The first three gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are commonly referred to as the synoptic gospels.

    Fargo Rock City Chuck Klosterman 2003

  • The Gospels are subdivided into two groups, those which are commonly called synoptic (Matthew,

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913

  • The first three gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke — are known as the synoptic gospels, and are the kernels of what theologians refer to as the “synoptic problem.”

    On having reached a terrible benchmark 2008

  • The violent weather on the plains rarely stemmed from the large-scale, or what meteorologists call synoptic, events, but from these smaller-pressure highs and lows that boiled upward as burly storms on spring afternoons.

    Storm Warning Nancy Mathis 2007

  • Of the four Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- the first three -- Matthew, Mark and Luke -- are described as synoptic Gospels because they provide a synopsis of the life of Jesus.

    The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind & Heart 1997

  • In teaching history she used what I may call the synoptic method, taking periods of fifty years, and explaining contemporaneous events in France, Italy, Germany, and England during that period.

    The Days Before Yesterday Frederick Spencer Hamilton 1892

  • A favorite part of his plan was a room which he liked to call his synoptic room.

    Louis Agassiz His Life and Correspondence Agassiz, Louis 1885

  • A favorite part of his plan was a room which he liked to call his synoptic room.

    Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence Louis Agassiz 1840

  • The number exceeded the most recent count -- called a synoptic survey -- conducted in 2007 by nearly 1,000 manatees.

    ScrippsNews - current events, culture, commentary, community 2009

Comments

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  • "The synoptic scale in meteorology (also known as large scale or cyclonic scale) is a horizontal length scale of the order of 1000 kilometres (about 620 miles) or more 1. This corresponds to a horizontal scale typical of mid-latitude depressions. Most high and low pressure areas seen on weather maps are synoptic-scale systems. The word synoptic is derived from the Greek word sunoptikos meaning seen together."

    - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_scale

    September 20, 2007