périhélie

French

Etymology

From 1690, possibly borrowed or calqued from English perihelion (from 1653), or possibly directly from péri- + Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun”). See perihelion for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pe.ʁi.e.li/, /pe.ʁje.li/

• Audio

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Noun

périhélie m (plural périhélies)

1. (astronomy) perihelion (point where the planet or comet is nearest to the sun) [from 17th c.]

   Antonym: aphélie

Further reading

• “périhélie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.