MERIDIAN

prime, meridian

(adjective) being at the best stage of development; “our manhood’s prime vigor”- Robert Browning

meridian

(adjective) of or happening at noon; “meridian hour”

meridian, line of longitude

(noun) an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator; “all points on the same meridian have the same longitude”

Meridian

(noun) a town in eastern Mississippi

acme, height, elevation, peak, pinnacle, summit, superlative, meridian, tiptop, top

(noun) the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development; “his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty”; “the artist’s gifts are at their acme”; “at the height of her career”; “the peak of perfection”; “summer was at its peak”; “...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle of fame”; “the summit of his ambition”; “so many highest superlatives achieved by man”; “at the top of his profession”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

meridian (plural meridians)

(obsolete) The south. [14th–17th c.]

(obsolete) Midday, noon. [14th–19th c.]

(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.]

(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.]

(figuratively) The highest or most developed point of something; culmination, splendour. [from 16th c.]

(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.]

The middle period of someone's life, when they are at full strength or abilities; one's prime. [from 17th c.]

(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.]

(obsolete, Scotland) A dram drunk at midday. [18th–19th c.]

(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.]

(printing, US, dated) The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point.

Synonyms

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

Adjective

meridian (not comparable)

Meridional; relating to a meridian.

Relating to noon

Relating to the highest point or culmination.

Proper noun

Meridian

A ghost town in Humboldt County, California.

An unincorporated community in Kern County, California.

A neighborhood in San Jose, Santa Clara County, California.

A census-designated place in Sutter County, California, United States.

An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Douglas County, Colorado.

An unincorporated community in Leon County, Florida.

An unincorporated community in McIntosh County, Georgia.

A sizable city in Ada County, Idaho.

A city, the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States.

A ghost town in Jefferson County, Nebraska.

A village in Cayuga County, New York.

A town in Logan County, Oklahoma.

A census-designated place in Stephens County, Oklahoma.

A census-designated place in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

A city, the county seat of Bosque County, Texas, United States.

A neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, also known as Tangletown.

Source: Wiktionary

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Me*rid"i*an, a. Etym: [F. méridien, L. meridianus pertaining to noon, fr. meridies noon, midday, for older medidies; medius mid, middle + dies day. See Mid, and Diurnal.]

1. Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in his diurnal course. "Meridian hour." Milton. Tables ... to find the altitude meridian. Chaucer.

2. Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as, meridian splendor.

Me*rid"i*an, n. Etym: [F. méridien. See Meridian, a.]

1. Midday; noon.

2. Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or the like; culmination. I have touched the highest point of all my greatness, And from that full meridian of my glory I haste now to my setting. Shak.

3. (Astron.)

Definition: A great circle of the sphere passing through the poles of the heavens and the zenith of a given place. It is crossed by the sun at midday.

4. (Geog.)

Definition: A great circle on the surface of the earth, passing through the poles and any given place; also, the half of such a circle included between the poles.

Note: The planes of the geographical and astronomical meridians coincide. Meridians, on a map or globe, are lines drawn at certain intervals due north and south, or in the direction of the poles. Calculated for, or fitted to, or adapted to, the meridian of, suited to the local circumstances, capabilities, or special requirements of. All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of this life, and is fitted to the meridian thereof. Sir M. Hale.

– First meridian, the meridian from which longitudes are reckoned. The meridian of Greenwich is the one commonly employed in calculations of longitude by geographers, and in actual practice, although in various countries other and different meridians, chiefly those which pass through the capitals of the countries, are occasionally used; as, in France, the meridian of Paris; in the United States, the meridian of Washington, etc.

– Guide meridian (Public Land Survey), a line, marked by monuments, running North and South through a section of country between other more carefully established meridians called principal meridians, used for reference in surveying. [U.S.] -- Magnetic meridian, a great circle, passing through the zenith and coinciding in direction with the magnetic needle, or a line on the earth's surface having the same direction.

– Meridian circle (Astron.), an instrument consisting of a telescope attached to a large graduated circle and so mounted that the telescope revolves like the transit instrument in a meridian plane. By it the right ascension and the declination of a star may be measured in a single observation.

– Meridian instrument (Astron.), any astronomical instrument having a telescope that rotates in a meridian plane.

– Meridian of a globe, or Brass meridian, a graduated circular ring of brass, in which the artificial globe is suspended and revolves.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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