meridian

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /məˈrɪdiən/ UK /məˈrɪdiən/ See IPA manual

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

Simplified etymology

Meridian comes from Latin meridianum, meaning “noon,” which derives from medius dies, literally “the middle of the day.” It entered English in the late Middle English period.

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

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# meridian

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**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
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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