nadir

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place of observation.
  2. The lowest point; time of greatest depression.
  3. The axis of a projected conical shadow; the direction of the force of gravity at a location; down.
  4. An empty box added beneath a full one in a beehive to give the colony more room to expand or store honey.
verb
  1. To extend (a beehive) by adding an empty box at the base.
name
  1. A male given name.
  2. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈneɪˌdɪə(ɹ)/ /ˈnæd.ɪə(ɹ)/ /ˈneɪ.də(ɹ)/ /neɪˈdɪə(ɹ)/ /ˈneɪˌdɪɚ/ /ˈneɪ.dɚ/ /neɪˈdɪɚ/ en-us-nadir.ogg

Word forms

nadir nadirs nadiring nadired

Etymology

From Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt), composed of نَظِير (naẓīr, “counterpart, corresponding to”) and السَّمْت (as-samt, “the zenith”).

Related words

azimuth zenith - Nadia

Derived words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.