zenith
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English senith, from cinit, from Old French cenit and/or Latin cenit, a transliteration of Arabic سمت (samt, “direction, path”) which is in itself a weak abbreviation of سمت الرأس (samt ar-ra's, “direction of the head”).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
zenith (plural zeniths)
- (astronomy) The point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.
- 1638 Herbert, Sir Thomas Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique
- The 12 day wee had the wind high and large ſo that in two dayes ſaile we made the Sunne our Zenith or verticall point...
- 1671–1693: Rev. Thomas Jolly, private notebook; printed in:
- 1895: Henry Fishwick (editor), The Note Book of the Rev. Thomas Jolly: A.D. 1671–1693. Extracts from the Church Books of Altham and Wymondhouses, 1649–1725. And an Account of the Jolly Family of Standish, Gorton, and Altham, page 44
- In this 10th m. appeared that prodigious Comett the tayl whereof was like the blade of a double edged sword, and reached almost from the horizon to the zenith.
- 1638 Herbert, Sir Thomas Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique
- (astronomy) The highest point in the sky reached by a celestial body.
- 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- ...in the middle of the day, when the sun was in the zenith, the violence of the heat was too great to stir out...
- 1920, Peter B. Kyne, The Understanding Heart, Chapter II:
- As far to the west as Monica could see, her world was a sea of fog, […] . Above it arched a cerulean sky; as the sun climbed to the zenith, […] , the fog gradually took on a bluish tinge.
- 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- Highest point or state; peak.
- 1900, William Beckford, The History of the Caliph Vathek[1], page 173:
- "There for a while I enjoyed myself in the zenith of glory and pleasure."
- 1900, William Beckford, The History of the Caliph Vathek[1], page 173:
Derived terms [edit]
Synonyms [edit]
- (highest point or state): acme, apogee, culmination, pinnacle
- See also Wikisaurus:apex
Antonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
astronomy: point vertically above a position or observer
astronomy: highest point reached by a celestial body
highest point or state; peak
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