ATLAS

PRONUNCIATION: (AT-luhs)

MEANING: noun:
1. A person who supports a great burden.
2. A book of maps, charts, tables, plates, etc.
3. The top vertebra of the backbone, which supports the skull.
4. A size of drawing paper 26x33 or 26x34 inches.
5. An architectural column in the shape of a man. (Plural: atlantes. Another word for this is telamon. The female equivalent is caryatid.)

ETYMOLOGY: After Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, who was condemned by Zeus to support the heavens. A book of maps is called an atlas because early books of this kind depicted Atlas on the cover holding the earth on his shoulders. Earliest documented use: 1589.

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ANTLAS - a deer's horns, as described by a Bostonian

ATTAS - a quadripedal fighting machine, designed by a dyslexic Star Wars illustrator

ATLA - where my flight to Hollywood is arriving (see also ATLAX)