different between meridian vs meridionally

English

Etymology

Middle English meridian, from Anglo-Norman meridien, Middle French meridien (“midday; the south; celestial meridian”), and their source, Latin mer?di?num, noun use of neuter form of mer?di?nus (“meridian”), ultimately from medius (“middle”) + di?s (“day”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /m????d??n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /m????di?n/

Noun

meridian (plural meridians)

1. (obsolete) The south. [14th–17th c.]
   • 1601, Philemon Holland, translating Pliny, The Historie of the World:

     With vs the stars about the North Pole neuer go downe, and those contrariwise about the Meridian neuer rise.

2. (obsolete) Midday, noon. [14th–19th c.]
3. (astronomy) A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith for a particular point on the earth's surface. [from 14th c.]
4. (astronomy, geography) An imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles, or that half of such a circle extending from pole to pole, all points of which have the same longitude. [from 14th c.]
5. (figuratively) The highest or most developed point of something; culmination, splendour. [from 16th c.]
6. (obsolete) A particular area or situation considered as having a specific identity or characteristic; the tastes or habits of a specific locale, group etc. [16th–19th c.]
   • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. II, ch. 75:

     Nor was his friend Godfrey a stranger to favours of the same kind; his accomplishments were exactly calculated for the meridian of female taste […] .
7. The middle period of someone's life, when they are at full strength or abilities; one's prime. [from 17th c.]
8. (mathematics) A line passing through the poles of any sphere; a notional line on the surface of a round or curved body. [from 18th c.]
9. (obsolete, Scotland) A dram drunk at midday. [18th–19th c.]
10. (acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine) Any of the pathways on the body along which the vital energy is thought to flow and, therefore, the acupoints are distributed. [from 20th c.]
11. (printing, US, dated) The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point.

Synonyms

• (midday): noon, noontide; see also Thesaurus:midday

Translations

Adjective

meridian (not comparable)

1. Meridional; relating to a meridian.
2. Relating to noon
3. Relating to the highest point or culmination.

Further reading

• meridian on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• meridian in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• meridian in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• meridian at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Meridian in the 1921 edition of Collier's Encyclopedia.

Romanian

Etymology

From French méridien

Noun

meridian n (plural meridiane)

1. meridian

Declension

English

Etymology

meridional +? -ly

Adverb

meridionally (not comparable)

1. In a meridional manner
2. With regard to, or in the direction of a meridian

Translations