meridian

See also Meridian

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin meridianus (“of or belonging to midday or to the south, southern”), from meridies (“midday, the south”), originally *medidies, from medius (“middle”) + diēs (“day”).

Noun

meridian (plural meridians)

1. An imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles.
2. Either half of such a great circle, all points of which have the same longitude.
3. (astronomy) A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith for a particular observer.
4. (mathematics) A similar line on any general surface of revolution.
5. (alternative medicine) Any of the pathways on the body along which the vital energy is thought to flow and, therefore, the acupoints are distributed.
6. The highest point or state of consciousness and enlightenment achievable by a human.

Translations

imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 經綫 (cmn), 经线 (cmn) (jīngxiàn)

• Czech: poledník (cs) m
• Finnish: pituuspiiri (fi), meridiaani (fi)
• French: méridien (fr) m
• German: Meridian (de) m
• Greek: μεσημβρινός (el) (mesimvrinós) m
• Italian: meridiana (it) f

• Japanese: 子午線 (ja) (しごせん, shigosen), 経線 (ja) (けいせん, keisen)
• Russian: меридиа́н (ru) (meridián) m
• Scottish Gaelic: domhan-loidhne (gd) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: меридијан (sh) m

  Roman: meridijan (sh) m

• Spanish: meridiano (es) m

either half of that circle

• Finnish: pituuspiiri (fi), meridiaani (fi)

great circle passing through the poles of a celestial sphere

• Finnish: meridiaani (fi)

math: similar line on any surface of revolution

• Finnish: meridiaani (fi)

acupunction: pathway along which acupoints are distributed

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 經絡 (cmn), 经络 (cmn) (jīngluò)

• Finnish: kanava (fi), meridiaani (fi)

• Japanese: 経絡系 (ja) (けいらくけい, keirakukei)
• Russian: меридиа́н (ru) (meridián) m

highest point of consciousness

• Finnish: korkein aste (fi)

Adjective

meridian

1. Meridional; relating to a meridian.
2. Relating to noon
3. Relating to the highest point or culmination.

   meridian splendour

External links

• meridian in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• meridian in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• meridian at OneLook Dictionary Search