meridian

Where “meridian” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   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.
2. 2
   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.
3. 3
   The place on the celestial meridian where it is crossed by the sun or a star at its highest point.
4. 4
   The place on the celestial meridian where it is crossed by the sun or a star at its highest point.
5. 5
   The place on the celestial meridian where it is crossed by the sun or a star at its highest point.
6. 6
   A ring or half-ring with markings in which an artificial globe is installed and may spin.
7. 7
   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).
8. 8
   The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point.
9. 9
   The south.
10. 10
    Midday, noon.
11. 11
    A midday rest; a siesta.
12. 12
    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.
13. 13
    An alcoholic drink taken at midday.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: emridian,meirdian,merdiian,meridain,meriddian,meridiann,meridina,meriidan,merridian,mmeridian,mreidian

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of meridian - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Frequently Asked Questions