Definition of Meridian

1. Adjective. Of or happening at noon. "Meridian hour"

Partainyms: Noon

2. Noun. The highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development. "At the top of his profession"
Exact synonyms: Acme, Elevation, Height, Peak, Pinnacle, Summit, Superlative, Tiptop, Top
Generic synonyms: Degree, Level, Point, Stage
Derivative terms: Elevate, Elevate, Peak, Superlative, Top, Top

3. Adjective. Being at the best stage of development. "Our manhood's prime vigor"
Exact synonyms: Prime
Similar to: Mature

4. Noun. A town in eastern Mississippi.
Generic synonyms: Town
Group relationships: Magnolia State, Mississippi, Ms

5. Noun. An imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator. "All points on the same meridian have the same longitude"
Exact synonyms: Line Of Longitude
Generic synonyms: Great Circle
Specialized synonyms: Observer's Meridian, Prime Meridian, Magnetic Meridian
Specialized synonyms: Date Line, Dateline, International Date Line
Derivative terms: Meridional

Definition of Meridian

1. a. Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in his diurnal course.

2. n. Midday; noon.

Definition of Meridian

1. Noun. An imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles. ¹

2. Noun. Either half of such a great circle, all points of which have the same longitude. ¹

3. Noun. (astronomy) A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith for a particular observer. ¹

4. Noun. (mathematics) A similar line on any general surface of revolution. ¹

5. Noun. (context: alternative medicine) Any of the pathways on the body along which the vital energy is thought to flow and, therefore, the acupoints are distributed. ¹

6. Noun. The highest point or state of consciousness and enlightenment achievable by a human. ¹

7. Adjective. Meridional; relating to a meridian. ¹

8. Adjective. Relating to noon ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Meridian

1. a circle around the earth passing through both poles [n -S]

Medical Definition of Meridian

1. 1. Midday; noon. 2. Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or the like; culmination. "I have touched the highest point of all my greatness, And from that full meridian of my glory I haste now to my setting." (Shak) 3. A great circle of the sphere passing through the poles of the heavens and the zenith of a given place. It is crossed by the sun at midday. 4. A great circle on the surface of the earth, passing through the poles and any given place; also, the half of such a circle included between the poles. The planes of the geographical and astronomical meridians coincide. Meridians, on a map or globe, are lines drawn at certain intervals due north and south, or in the direction of the poles. Calculated for, or fitted to, or adapted to, the meridian of, suited to the local circumstances, capabilities, or special requirements of. "All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of this life, and is fitted to the meridian thereof." (Sir M. Hale) First meridian, the meridian from which longitudes are reckoned. The meridian of Greenwich is the one commonly employed in calculations of longitude by geographers, and in actual practice, although in various countries other and different meridians, chiefly those which pass through the capitals of the countries, are occasionally used; as, in France, the meridian of Paris; in the United States, the meridian of Washington, etc. Guide meridian, a line, marked by monuments, running North and South through a section of country between other more carefully established meridians called principal meridians, used for reference in surveying. Magnetic meridian, a great circle, passing through the zenith and coinciding in direction with the magnetic needle, or a line on the earth's surface having the same direction. Meridian circle, any astronomical instrument having a telescope that rotates in a meridian plane. Meridian of a globe, or Brass meridian, a graduated circular ring of brass, in which the artificial globe is suspended and revolves. Origin: F. Meridien. See Meridian. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Meridian

mergesorts
merging
merging(a)
mergings
mergirl
mergirls
merguard
merguez
merhorse
merhusband
meri
mericarp
mericarps
mericlone
meride
meridian (current term)
meridian of cornea
meridianally
meridiani
meridiani bulbi oculi
meridians
meridians of eye
meridianus
meridional
meridional aberration
meridional cleavage
meridional fibres
meridional ray
meridional wind
meridionality

Literary usage of Meridian

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1884)
"At the third meeting, on Oct. 6, the pending resolution of Mr. Rutherford was so modified as to define the meridian of Greenwich as a standard meridian for ..."

2. Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature (1907)
"The curvatures of the meridians and parallels in the meridian Mercator are expressed by very simple formule. Let z, y be the coordinates, measured from the ..."

3. A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy: Embracing the General by William Chauvenet (1863)
"THE meridian line is the intersection of the plane of the meridian with the plane ... By the meridian passage of a star.—If the precise instant when a star ..."

4. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society by American Mathematical Society (1919)
"Employ a stereographic projection of the celestial sphere on the plane of the observer's meridian (a projection from the pole of the meridian circle). ..."

5. Annual Report (1873)
"Of the political divisions lying west of the one hundredth meridian, where actual field-work has not been done, are Oregon and the Territories of Washington ..."

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