NEPTUNE
Nep"tune, n. Etym: [L. Neptunus.]
1. (Rom. Myth.)
Defn: The son of Saturn and Ops, the god of the waters, especially of the sea. He is represented as bearing a trident for a scepter.
2. (Astron.)
Defn: The remotest known planet of our system, discovered — as a result of the computations of Leverrier, of Paris — by Galle, of Berlin, September 23, 1846. Its mean distance from the sun is about 2,775,000,000 miles, and its period of revolution is about 164,78 years. Neptune powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin, — used in blasting. — Neptune's cup (Zoöl.), a very large, cup-shaped, marine sponge (Thalassema Neptuni).
NEPTUNIAN Nep*tu"ni*an, a. Etym: [L. Neptunius belonging to Neptune: cf. F. neptunien.]
1. Of or pertaining to the ocean or sea.
2. (Geol.)
Defn: Formed by water or aqueous solution; as, Neptunian rocks. Neptunian races (Ethnol.), the Malay and Polynesian races. — Neptunian theory (Geol.), the theory of Werner, which referred the formation of all rocks and strata to the agency of water; — opposed to the Plutonic theory.
NEPTUNIAN; NEPTUNIST
Nep*tu"ni*an, Nep"tu*nist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. neptinien, neptuniste.]
(Geol.)