meridian

C2+ Topic:Mathematics & Measurement

US /məˈrɪdiən/ UK /məˈrɪdiən/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
a great circle of longitude; or the point of highest development

His powers were at their meridian when the masterpiece appeared.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a great circle of... longitude apex zenith peak summit climax acme

Opposites

nadir trough

Word family

Derived forms meridional

Related forms meridionalante-meridiempost-meridiem

Etymology

From Old French meridien, from Latin merīdiānus 'of midday, southern', from merīdiēs 'midday, south', a dissimilated form of *medīdiēs, from medius 'middle' + diēs 'day'.

merīdiānus Latin medius Latin diēs Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mathematics & Measurement Word Formation & Derivatives

# meridian

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** məˈrɪdiən
**IPA (UK):** məˈrɪdiən

## Meanings
1. a great circle of longitude; or the point of highest development

## Examples
- His powers were at their meridian when the masterpiece appeared.

## Synonyms
- longitude
- apex
- zenith
- peak
- summit
- climax
- acme

## Antonyms
- nadir
- trough

## Derived Forms
- meridional

## Related Forms
- meridional
- ante-meridiem
- post-meridiem

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: merīdiānus
- Root: medius
- Root: diēs

## Etymology
From Old French meridien, from Latin merīdiānus 'of midday, southern', from merīdiēs 'midday, south', a dissimilated form of *medīdiēs, from medius 'middle' + diēs 'day'.

## AI Etymology
Meridian comes from Old French meridien, from Latin merīdiānus 'of midday, southern', from merīdiēs 'midday, south', a dissimilated form of *medīdiēs, from medius 'middle' + diēs 'day'. The etymological trail includes Latin merīdiānus, Latin medius, Latin diēs. The same word family includes meridional, ante-meridiem, post-meridiem. Its current noun use means "a great circle of longitude; or the point of highest development".

## Topics
- Mathematics & Measurement
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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meridian

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