meridian

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /məˈɹɪ.dɪ.ən/, /mɪ-/ (General American) IPA(key): /məˈɹɪ.di.ən/ Rhymes: -ɪdiən Hyphenation: me‧ri‧di‧an === Etymology 1 === The noun is derived from Late Middle English meridian, meridien (“midday, noon; position of the sun at noon; the south; longitude of a place; (astronomy) celestial meridian”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman meridien (“midday”), Middle French meridien (“midday; the south; terrestrial meridian; (astronomy) celestial meridian”) (modern French méridien), and Old French meridiane, meridiiene, and from their etymon Latin merīdiānum (“midday; position of the sun at noon; the south”), a noun use of the neuter form of merīdiānus (“relating to midday; southern”); see further at etymology 1. Sense 1.1 (“celestial meridian”) is ultimately modelled after Latin merīdiāna līnea (“meridian line”). Sense 5.2 (“midday rest; siesta”) is modelled after Late Latin meridiana (“midday; midday rest”), probably short for Latin merīdiāna hōra (“midday time”). The verb is derived from the noun. ==== Noun ==== meridian (plural meridians) (astronomy) In full celestial meridian: a great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith for a particular point on the Earth's surface. [from 14th c.] (also geography) In full terrestrial meridian: a great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles (the terrestrial North Pole and South Pole); also, half of such a circle extending from pole to pole, all points of which have the same longitude. [from 14th c.] (by extension) The place on the celestial meridian where it is crossed by the sun or a star at its highest point. (figuratively) The highest or most developed point, or most splendid stage, of something; culmination, peak, zenith. [from 16th c.] (figuratively, specifically) Chiefly followed by of: the middle period of someone's life, when they are at their full abilities or strength; one's prime. [from 17th c.] A ring or half-ring with markings in which an artificial globe is installed and may spin. (mathematics) A line passing through the poles of any sphere; a notional line on the surface of a curved or round body (in particular, an eyeball). [from 18th c.] (US, printing, dated) The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point. (obsolete) The south. [14th–17th c.] Midday, noon. [14th–19th c.] Synonyms: noontide; see also Thesaurus:midday A midday rest; a siesta. A particular area or situation considered as having a specific characteristic or identity; also, the characteristics, habits, or tastes of a specific group, locale, etc. [16th–19th c.] (Scotland) An alcoholic drink taken at midday. [18th–19th c.] ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== méridienne, meridienne meridional meridionally ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== meridian (third-person singular simple present meridians, present participle meridianing, simple past and past participle meridianed) (rare, also figuratively) (transitive) To cause an object to reach the meridian or highest point of (something). (intransitive) Of a celestial body: to reach its meridian. ===== Derived terms ===== meridianed (adjective) ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Late Middle English meridian, meridien (“relating to midday or noon; southern; (astronomy) relating to the celestial meridian”) [and other forms], from Middle French meridien, Old French meridiane (“relating to midday; southern”) (whence Anglo-Norman meridien; modern French méridien), and from their etymon Latin merīdiānus (“relating to midday; southern”), from merīdiēs (“midday, noon; the south (due to the southward orientation of the sun at noon in the Northern Hemisphere)”) + -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’). Merīdiēs is a dissimilated form of Old Latin medīdiēs (with the -d- sound shifted to -r-), from medius (“middle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”)) + diēs (“day”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“heaven, sky; to be bright”)). ==== Adjective ==== meridian (not comparable) Relating to a meridian (in various senses); meridional. (archaic except literary) Relating to midday or noon. (obsolete) Relating to the culmination or highest point. Relating to the south; meridional, southern. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Borrowed from French méridien or German Meridian (“pathway on the body along which life force is thought to flow”), from Latin merīdiānum (“midday; position of the sun at noon; the south”) (see further at etymology 2); the French and German words are calques of Mandarin 經 / 经, 经 (jīng, “pathway on the body along which life force is thought to flow; longitude; warp of woven fabric; to go or pass through”). ==== Noun ==== meridian (plural meridians) (acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine) Any of the pathways on the body along which chi or qi (life force) is thought to flow and, therefore, the acupoints are distributed; especially, one of twelve such pathways associated with organs of the body. [from 20th c.] ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === meridian (astronomy) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia meridian (Chinese medicine) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia meridian (geography) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia meridian (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “meridian”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “meridian”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. Meridian in the 1921 edition of Collier's Encyclopedia. “meridian”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French méridien. === Noun === meridian n (plural meridiane) meridian ==== Declension ==== == Swedish == === Noun === meridian c (astronomy, geography) a meridian a meridian (ring or half-ring with markings in which an artificial globe is installed and may spin) ==== Declension ==== === References === “meridian”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish) “meridian”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish) “meridian”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)