meaning of atlas
1. One who sustains a great burden.
2. The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.
3. A collection of maps in a volume
4. A volume of plates illustrating any subject.
5. A work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas.
6. A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio.
7. A drawing paper of large size. See under Paper, n.
8. A rich kind of satin manufactured in India.