\Ge*od"e*sy\, n. [Gr. ?; ge`a, gh^, the earth + ? to
divide: cf. F. g['e]od['e]sie.] (Math.)
That branch of applied mathematics which determines, by means
of observations and measurements, the figures and areas of
large portions of the earth's surface, or the general figure
and dimenshions of the earth; or that branch of surveying in
which the curvature of the earth is taken into account, as in
the surveys of States, or of long lines of coast.