meridian
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
meridian /məˈrɪdɪən/
▶noun
- 1 a circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth's surface and the poles.
■ Astronomy a circle passing through the celestial poles and the zenith of a given place on the earth's surface.
- 2 (in acupuncture and Chinese medicine) a pathway in the body along which vital energy is said to flow.
– origin ME: from OFr. meridien, from L. meridianum ‘noon’, from medius ‘middle’ + dies ‘day’; the astronomy use is due to the fact that the sun crosses a meridian at noon.
'meridian' also found in these Oxford entries:
culminate
- Date Line
- gnomon
- Greenwich Mean Time
- Greenwich meridian
- longitude
- lunar day
- meridian circle
- meridional
- midheaven
- solar day
- south
- southing
- transit circle
