gibbous

English

A gibbous moon (sense 2).

Etymology

From Middle English gibbous, from Latin gibbus (“humped, hunched”), probably cognate with cubō (“bend oneself, lie down”), Italian gobba (“humpback”), Greek κύφος (kýfos, “humpback, bent”), κύβος (kývos, “cube, vertebra”), Spanish giboso (“humped”). Also ultimately compare dialectal Norwegian keiv (“slanted, wrong”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɪbəs/
• Rhymes: -ɪbəs

Adjective

gibbous (comparative more gibbous, superlative most gibbous)

1. Characterized by convexity; protuberant.
   • 1886, Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge, chapter 22

     In fact, what these gibbous human shapes specially represented was ready money—money insistently ready [...]

2. (astronomy, of a celestial body) Having more than half (but not the whole) of its disc illuminated.
3. Humpbacked.
   • 1697, Dryden, Aeneid, book 8

     A pointed flinty rock, all bare and black,

     Grew gibbous from behind the mountain's back;

Antonyms

• crescent

Derived terms

• gibbous moon

Translations

characterized by convexity; protuberant

• Bulgarian: издут (bg) (izdut), изпъкнал (bg) (izpǎknal)
• Finnish: kupera (fi)
• French: gibbeux (fr) m, gibbeuse (fr) f
• Georgian: ამოზნექილი (amoznekili), ამობურცული (amoburculi), გამობურცული (gamoburculi)

• Old English: hofored, ġehofored
• Portuguese: giboso
• Russian: выпуклый (ru) (vypuklyj), выступающий (ru) (vystupajuščij)
• Spanish: giboso

phase of moon or planet

• Catalan: gibós (ca)
• Finnish: kupera (fi)
• French: gibbeux (fr) m, gibbeuse (fr) f
• Navajo: nitʼą́ą́ hanádzá

• Portuguese: giboso
• Russian: освещённый более, чем на половину (osveščónnyj boleje, čem na polovinu)
• Scottish Gaelic: crotach
• Spanish: giboso

humpbacked — see humpbacked