different between zenith vs maximum

English

Etymology

From Middle English cenyth, from Medieval Latin cenit, from Arabic ?????? (samt, “direction, path”), from the fuller form ????? ?????????? (samt ar-ra?s, “direction of the head”). The -ni- for -m- is sometimes thought to be due to a misreading of the three strokes, which is plausible, though it could be a mere phonetic approximation.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /?z?n.??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?zi.n??/

Noun

zenith (plural zeniths)

1. (astronomy) The point in the sky vertically above a given position or observer; the point in the celestial sphere opposite the nadir.

   Antonyms: nadir, perigee

   • 1638 Herbert, Sir Thomas Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique

   • 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

   • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter XI, p. 180, [1]

2. (astronomy) The highest point in the sky reached by a celestial body.
   • 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

   • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, The Understanding Heart, Chapter II:

3. (by extension) Highest point or state; peak.

   Synonyms: acme, apogee, culmination, pinnacle

Antonyms

• antizenith

Derived terms

Related terms

• azimuth, nadir

Translations

Further reading

• zenith on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Heintz, Hintze

English

Etymology

Via French from Latin maximum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?mæks?m?m/
• Hyphenation: max?i?mum

Noun

maximum (plural maxima or maximums)

1. The highest limit
   • P. Colquhoun

     Good legislation is the art of conducting a nation to the maximum of happiness, and the minimum of misery.

2. (mathematics) The greatest value of a set or other mathematical structure, especially the global maximum or a local maximum of a function
3. (mathematical analysis) An upper bound of a set which is also an element of that set
4. (statistics) The largest value of a batch or sample or the upper bound of a probability distribution
5. (colloquial, snooker) A 147 break; the highest possible break
6. (colloquial, darts) A score of 180 with three darts
7. (colloquial, cricket) A scoring shot for 6 runs

Usage notes

• Maxima is the more common plural, especially for the technical senses.

Synonyms

• max

Antonyms

• minimum

Hypernyms

• (statistics): measure of location
• extremum

Translations

Adjective

maximum (not comparable)

1. To the highest degree.

   Synonym: maximal

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

• supremum

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?maks?mum]

Noun

maximum n

1. maximum

Declension

Antonyms

• minimum

Further reading

• maximum in P?íru?ní slovník jazyka ?eského, 1935–1957
• maximum in Slovník spisovného jazyka ?eského, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin maximum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?k.si?m?m/
• Hyphenation: ma?xi?mum

Noun

maximum n (plural maxima or maximums, diminutive maximumpje n)

1. maximum

Antonyms

• minimum

Derived terms

• maximumleeftijd
• maximumloon
• maximumsnelheid

Related terms

• maximaal

Descendants

• Afrikaans: maksimum

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mak.si.m?m/

Noun

maximum m (plural maxima or maximums)

1. maximum

Derived terms

• grand maximum
• maximal

Further reading

• “maximum” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Adjective

maximum

1. nominative neuter singular of maximus
2. accusative masculine singular of maximus
3. accusative neuter singular of maximus
4. vocative neuter singular of maximus

Romanian

Etymology

From French maximum

Noun

maximum n (uncountable)

1. maximum

Declension