From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Meridian \Me*rid"i*an\, a. [F. m['e]ridien, 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.
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Tables . . . to find the altitude meridian.
--Chaucer.
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2. Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as,
meridian splendor.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Meridian \Me*rid"i*an\, n. [F. m['e]ridien. See {Meridian}, a.]
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1. Midday; noon.
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2. Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or
the like; culmination.
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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.
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3. (Astron.) 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.
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4. (Geog.) 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.
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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.
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{Calculated for the meridian of}, or {fitted to the meridian
of}, or {adapted to the meridian of}, suited to the local
circumstances, capabilities, or special requirements of.
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All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of
this life, and is fitted to the meridian thereof.
--Sir M. Hale.
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{First meridian} or {prime 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.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
meridian
adj 1: of or happening at noon; "meridian hour"
2: being at the best stage of development; "our manhood's prime
vigor"- Robert Browning [syn: {prime}, {meridian}]
n 1: 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" [syn: {acme}, {height}, {elevation}, {peak},
{pinnacle}, {summit}, {superlative}, {meridian}, {tiptop},
{top}]
2: a town in eastern Mississippi
3: 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" [syn: {meridian}, {line of longitude}]
From German-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.3 [fd-deu-eng]:
Meridian /meːriːdiːaːn/
meridian
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