Map

n. [Lat. mappa, napkin, signal-cloth, a Punic word, Fr. mappe, napkin, map, chart; Sp. mapa, map; Pg. mappa, id., It. mappamondo, a map of the world.] A representation of the surface of the earth, or of any part of it, drawn on paper or other material, and usually upon a plane surface; a geographical delineation; a chart; especially applied to geographical drawings of land surfaces, but sometimes also to representations of the celestial sphere, to geographical drawings, &c.; hence, figuratively, a distinct and vivid representation.

There are five principal kinds of projection used in making maps: the orthographic, the stereographic, the globular, the conical, and the cylindrical, or Mercator’s projection.