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Meaning of MERIDIAN

Pronunciation:  mu'rideeun, mu'rideeun

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. [n]  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"
  2. [n]  a town in eastern Mississippi
  3. [adj]  of or happening at noon; "meridian hour"
 
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 Synonyms: line of longitude, longitude
 
 See Also: date line, dateline, great circle, International Date Line, magnetic meridian, Magnolia State, Mississippi, MS, observer's meridian, prime meridian, town

 

 

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 Definition: 

Meridian
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Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
  1. \Me*rid"i*an\, a. [F. m['e]ridien, L. meridianus
    pertaining to noon, fr. meridies noon, midday, for older
    medidies; medius mid, middle + dies day. See {Mid}, and
    {Diurnal}.]
    1. Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or
       passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in
       his diurnal course. ``Meridian hour.'' --Milton.
             Tables . . . to find the altitude meridian.
                                                   --Chaucer.
    2. Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as,
       meridian splendor.
    
  2. \Me*rid"i*an\, n. [F. m['e]ridien. See {Meridian}, a.]
    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. (Astron.) 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. (Geog.) 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.
    Note: 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} (Public Land Survey), 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. [U.S.]
    {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} (Astron.), an instrument consisting of a
       telescope attached to a large graduated circle and so
       mounted that the telescope revolves like the transit
       instrument in a meridian plane. By it the right ascension
       and the declination of a star may be measured in a single
       observation.
    {Meridian instrument} (Astron.), 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.
    
 
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