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meridian
meridian a circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth's surface and the terrestrial poles; in astronomy, a circle passing through the celestial poles and the zenith of a given place on the earth's surface.
Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes via Old French from Latin meridianum (neuter, used as a noun) ‘noon’, from medius ‘middle’ + dies ‘day’. The use in astronomy is due to the fact that the sun crosses a meridian at noon. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "meridian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "meridian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-meridian.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "meridian." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-meridian.html |
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Meridian
Meridian , city (1990 pop. 41,036), seat of Lauderdale co., E Miss., near the Ala. line; settled 1831, inc. 1860. It is an important rail and highway point and the trade and shipping center for a farm, livestock, and timber area. There is also diverse manufacturing. In the Civil War, Meridian was the temporary capital of Mississippi (1863); it was destroyed by General Sherman in Feb., 1864. Meridian Naval Air Station is to the north. Nearby Okatibbee Reservoir offers recreational activities. |
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"Meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Meridian.html "Meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Meridian.html |
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meridian
meridian, from Latin medius meaning middle, and dies meaning day, a semi-great circle joining the earth's poles. Meridians, better known as lines of longitude, cross the equator and all parallels of latitude at right angles. Owing to the rotation of the earth, all celestial bodies appear to revolve around the earth towards the west, making one revolution in a day. When the sun crosses an observer's meridian, the local time is midday.
See also prime meridian. |
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"meridian." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "meridian." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-meridian.html "meridian." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-meridian.html |
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prime meridian
prime meridian meridian that is designated zero degree (0°) longitude, from which all other longitudes are measured. By international convention, it passes through the original site of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England; for this reason, it is sometimes called the Greenwich meridian. Universal time , the standard basis for determining time throughout the world, is civil time measured at the prime meridian. |
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"prime meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "prime meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-primemer.html "prime meridian." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-primemer.html |
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prime meridian
prime meridian A fixed circle of longitude on the surface of a body, used as a reference from which other longitudes can be measured west or east. The prime meridian on Earth passes through the transit circle established by G. B.Airy at Greenwich, and defines the zero of terrestrial longitude. On other bodies the prime meridian is defined with respect to a known surface feature, such as a small crater.
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"prime meridian." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "prime meridian." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-primemeridian.html "prime meridian." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-primemeridian.html |
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meridian
meridian
A. † midday XIV; point of sun's or star's highest altitude XV; B. great circle of the earth or a celestial sphere XIV; individual locality XVI; adj. XIV. — (O)F. méridien or L. merīdiānus, f. mērīdiēs, nom. f. loc. merīdiē, by dissim. from *mediei diē at midday. So meridional XIV. — F. — late L. |
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T. F. HOAD. "meridian." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "meridian." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-meridian.html T. F. HOAD. "meridian." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-meridian.html |
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meridian
meridian. Line running north–south, i.e. where the great circle passing through the poles reaches the earth's surface. Some meridians have been marked on church floors (e.g. Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, and Santa Maria degli Angeli, Rome), complete with signs of the zodiac and graduations.
Bibliography W. Papworth (1852) |
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "meridian." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "meridian." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-meridian.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "meridian." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-meridian.html |
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Meridian
Meridian, Mississippi/USA Settled in 1854 at the point where the Vicksburg‐Montgomery and the Mobile and Ohio railway lines met. The city received its name from a settler who believed that ‘meridian’ meant ‘junction’.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meridian." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meridian." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Meridian.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Meridian." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Meridian.html |
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Meridian
Me·rid·i·an / məˈridēən/ 1. a city in southwestern Idaho, west of Boise; pop. 34,919. 2. a city in eastern Mississippi; pop. 39,968. |
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"Meridian." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Meridian." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-meridian.html "Meridian." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-meridian.html |
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meridian
meridian Circle that runs through the North and South Poles, at right angles to the Equator. See also longitude
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"meridian." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "meridian." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-meridian.html "meridian." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-meridian.html |
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meridian
meridian •antipodean, Crimean, Judaean, Korean
•Albion
•Gambian, Zambian
•lesbian
•Arabian, Bessarabian, Fabian, gabion, Sabian, Swabian
•amphibian, Libyan, Namibian
•Sorbian
•Danubian, Nubian
•Colombian • Serbian • Nietzschean
•Chadian, Trinidadian
•Andean, Kandyan
•guardian
•Acadian, Akkadian, Arcadian, Barbadian, Canadian, circadian, Grenadian, Hadean, Orcadian, Palladian, radian, steradian
•Archimedean, comedian, epicedian, median, tragedian
•ascidian, Derridean, Dravidian, enchiridion, Euclidean, Floridian, Gideon, Lydian, meridian, Numidian, obsidian, Pisidian, quotidian, viridian
•Amerindian, Indian
•accordion, Edwardian
•Cambodian, collodion, custodian, melodeon, nickelodeon, Odeon
•Freudian • Bermudian • Burundian
•Burgundian
•Falstaffian, Halafian
•Christadelphian, Delphian, Philadelphian
•nymphean • ruffian • Brobdingnagian
•Carolingian • Swedenborgian
•logion, Muskogean
•Jungian
•magian, Pelagian
•collegian
•callipygian, Cantabrigian, Phrygian, Stygian
•Merovingian • philologian • Fujian
•Czechoslovakian • Pickwickian
•Algonquian • Chomskian
•Kentuckian
•battalion, galleon, medallion, rapscallion, scallion
•Anglian, ganglion
•Heraklion
•Dalian, Malian, Somalian
•Chellean, Machiavellian, Orwellian, Sabellian, Trevelyan, triskelion
•Wesleyan
•alien, Australian, bacchanalian, Castalian, Deucalion, episcopalian, Hegelian, madrigalian, mammalian, Pygmalion, Salian, saturnalian, sesquipedalian, tatterdemalion, Thessalian, Westphalian
•anthelion, Aristotelian, Aurelian, carnelian, chameleon, Karelian, Mendelian, Mephistophelian, Pelion, Sahelian
•Abbevillian, Azilian, Brazilian, caecilian, Castilian, Chilean, Churchillian, civilian, cotillion, crocodilian, epyllion, Gillian, Lilian, Maximilian, Pamphylian, pavilion, postilion, Quintilian, reptilian, Sicilian, Tamilian, vaudevillian, vermilion, Virgilian
•Aeolian, Anatolian, Eolian, Jolyon, Mongolian, napoleon, simoleon
•Acheulian, Boolean, cerulean, Friulian, Julian, Julien
•bullion
•mullion, scullion, Tertullian
•Liverpudlian
•Bahamian, Bamian, Damian, Mesopotamian, Samian
•anthemion, Bohemian
•Endymion, prosimian, Simeon, simian
•isthmian • antinomian
•Permian, vermian
•Oceanian
•Albanian, Azanian, Iranian, Jordanian, Lithuanian, Mauritanian, Mediterranean, Panamanian, Pennsylvanian, Pomeranian, Romanian, Ruritanian, Sassanian, subterranean, Tasmanian, Transylvanian, Tripolitanian, Turanian, Ukrainian, Vulcanian
•Armenian, Athenian, Fenian, Magdalenian, Mycenaean (US Mycenean), Slovenian, Tyrrhenian
•Argentinian, Arminian, Augustinian, Carthaginian, Darwinian, dominion, Guinean, Justinian, Ninian, Palestinian, Sardinian, Virginian
•epilimnion, hypolimnion
•Bosnian
•Bornean, Californian, Capricornian
•Aberdonian, Amazonian, Apollonian, Babylonian, Baconian, Bostonian, Caledonian, Catalonian, Chalcedonian, Ciceronian, Devonian, draconian, Estonian, Etonian, gorgonian, Ionian, Johnsonian, Laconian, Macedonian, Miltonian, Newtonian, Oregonian, Oxonian, Patagonian, Plutonian, Tennysonian, Tobagonian, Washingtonian
•Cameroonian, communion, Mancunian, Neptunian, Réunion, union
•Hibernian, Saturnian
•Campion, champion, Grampian, rampion, tampion
•thespian • Mississippian • Olympian
•Crispian
•Scorpian, scorpion
•cornucopian, dystopian, Ethiopian, Salopian, subtopian, Utopian
•Guadeloupian
•Carian, carrion, clarion, Marian
•Calabrian, Cantabrian
•Cambrian • Bactrian
•Lancastrian, Zoroastrian
•Alexandrian • Maharashtrian
•equestrian, pedestrian
•agrarian, antiquarian, apiarian, Aquarian, Arian, Aryan, authoritarian, barbarian, Bavarian, Bulgarian, Caesarean (US Cesarean), centenarian, communitarian, contrarian, Darien, disciplinarian, egalitarian, equalitarian, establishmentarian, fruitarian, Gibraltarian, grammarian, Hanoverian, humanitarian, Hungarian, latitudinarian, libertarian, librarian, majoritarian, millenarian, necessarian, necessitarian, nonagenarian, octogenarian, ovarian, Parian, parliamentarian, planarian, predestinarian, prelapsarian, proletarian, quadragenarian, quinquagenarian, quodlibetarian, Rastafarian, riparian, rosarian, Rotarian, sabbatarian, Sagittarian, sanitarian, Sauveterrian, sectarian, seminarian, septuagenarian, sexagenarian, topiarian, totalitarian, Trinitarian, ubiquitarian, Unitarian, utilitarian, valetudinarian, vegetarian, veterinarian, vulgarian
•Adrian, Hadrian
•Assyrian, Illyrian, Syrian, Tyrian
•morion • Austrian
•Dorian, Ecuadorean, historian, Hyperborean, Nestorian, oratorian, praetorian (US pretorian), salutatorian, Salvadorean, Singaporean, stentorian, Taurean, valedictorian, Victorian
•Ugrian • Zarathustrian
•Cumbrian, Northumbrian, Umbrian
•Algerian, Cancerian, Chaucerian, Cimmerian, criterion, Hesperian, Hitlerian, Hyperion, Iberian, Liberian, Nigerian, Presbyterian, Shakespearean, Siberian, Spenserian, Sumerian, valerian, Wagnerian, Zairean
•Arthurian, Ben-Gurion, centurion, durian, holothurian, Khachaturian, Ligurian, Missourian, Silurian, tellurian
•Circassian, Parnassian
•halcyon • Capsian • Hessian
•Albigensian, Waldensian
•Dacian • Keatsian
•Cilician, Galician, Lycian, Mysian, Odyssean
•Leibnizian • Piscean • Ossian
•Gaussian • Joycean • Andalusian
•Mercian • Appalachian • Decian
•Ordovician, Priscian
•Lucian
•himation, Montserratian
•Atlantean, Dantean, Kantian
•bastion, Erastian, Sebastian
•Mozartian • Brechtian • Thyestean
•Fortean • Faustian • protean
•Djiboutian
•fustian, Procrustean
•Gilbertian, Goethean, nemertean
•pantheon
•Hogarthian, Parthian
•Lethean, Promethean
•Pythian • Corinthian • Scythian
•Lothian, Midlothian
•Latvian • Yugoslavian
•avian, Batavian, Flavian, Moldavian, Moravian, Octavian, Scandinavian, Shavian
•Bolivian, Maldivian, oblivion, Vivian
•Chekhovian, Harrovian, Jovian, Pavlovian
•alluvion, antediluvian, diluvian, Peruvian
•Servian • Malawian • Zimbabwean
•Abkhazian • Dickensian
•Caucasian, Malaysian, Rabelaisian
•Keynesian
•Belizean, Cartesian, Indonesian, Milesian, Salesian, Silesian
•Elysian, Frisian, Parisian, Tunisian
•Holmesian
•Carthusian, Malthusian, Venusian
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Cite this article
"meridian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "meridian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-meridian.html "meridian." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-meridian.html |
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