Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Zenith
Ze′nith
(?; 277)
, Noun.
[OE.
senyth
, OF. cenith
, F. zénith
, Sp. zenit
, cenit
, abbrev. fr. Ar. samt-urras
way of the head, vertical place; samt
way, path + al
the + ras
head. Cf. Azimuth
.] 1.
That point in the visible celestial hemisphere which is vertical to the spectator; the point of the heavens directly overhead; – opposed to
nadir
. From morn
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,
A summer’s day; and with the setting sun
Dropped from the
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,
A summer’s day; and with the setting sun
Dropped from the
zenith
, like a falling star. Milton.
2.
hence, figuratively, the point of culmination; the greatest height; the height of success or prosperity.
I find my
A most auspicious star.
zenith
doth depend uponA most auspicious star.
Shakespeare
This dead of midnight is the noon of thought,
And wisdom mounts her
And wisdom mounts her
zenith
with the stars. Mrs. Barbauld.
It was during those civil troubles . . . this aspiring family reached the
zenith
. Macaulay.
Zenith distance
. (Astron.)
See under
– Distance
. Zenith sector
. (Astron.)
See
– Sector
, 3. Zenith telescope
(Geodesy)
, a telescope specially designed for determining the latitude by means of any two stars which pass the meridian about the same time, and at nearly equal distances from the zenith, but on opposite sides of it. It turns both on a vertical and a horizontal axis, is provided with a graduated vertical semicircle, and a level for setting it to a given zenith distance, and with a micrometer for measuring the difference of the zenith distances of the two stars.
Webster 1828 Edition
Zenith
ZENITH
,Noun.
Definition 2024
zenith
zenith
See also: zénith
English
Noun
zenith (plural zeniths)
- (astronomy) The point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.
- 1638 Herbert, Sir Thomas Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique
- The 12 day wee had the wind high and large ſo that in two dayes ſaile we made the Sunne our Zenith or verticall point...
- 1671–1693: Rev. Thomas Jolly, private notebook; printed in:
- 1895, Henry Fishwick (editor), The Note Book of the Rev. Thomas Jolly: A.D. 1671–1693. Extracts from the Church Books of Altham and Wymondhouses, 1649–1725. And an Account of the Jolly Family of Standish, Gorton, and Altham, page 44
- In this 10th m. appeared that prodigious Comett the tayl whereof was like the blade of a double edged sword, and reached almost from the horizon to the zenith.
- 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter XI, p. 180,
- In the east a pillar of cloud reared from horizon to zenith, with a kind of arm outstretched like a threatening colossus.
- 1638 Herbert, Sir Thomas Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique
- (astronomy) The highest point in the sky reached by a celestial body.
- 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- ...in the middle of the day, when the sun was in the zenith, the violence of the heat was too great to stir out...
- 1920, Peter B. Kyne, The Understanding Heart, Chapter II:
- As far to the west as Monica could see, her world was a sea of fog, […] . Above it arched a cerulean sky; as the sun climbed to the zenith, […] , the fog gradually took on a bluish tinge.
- 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
- Highest point or state; peak.
- Shakespeare
- I find my zenith doth depend upon / A most auspicious star.
- Macaulay
- It was during those civil troubles […] this aspiring family reached the zenith.
- Shakespeare
Derived terms
Synonyms
- (highest point or state): acme, apogee, culmination, pinnacle
- See also Wikisaurus:apex
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
astronomy: point vertically above a position or observer
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astronomy: highest point reached by a celestial body
highest point or state; peak
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