Climate, considered especially in relation to man #1015143

Meaning and Scope of Climatology. The word klima (from κλίνειν, to incline), as used by the Greeks, originally referred to the supposed slope of the earth toward the pole, or to the inclination of the earth’s axis or of the sun’s rays. It may, perhaps, have had reference to the different exposures of mountain slopes. Later, probably after Aristotle’s time, it came to be used as about equivalent to our zone, but at first it was simply a mathematical or an astronomical term, not associated with any idea of physical climate. A change of latitude in those days meant a change of climate. Such a change was gradually seen to mean a change of atmospheric conditions as well as a change in length of day. Thus klima came to have its present meaning.