meridian

noun

1. Geography.
   1. a great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point on the earth’s surface.
   2. the half of such a circle included between the poles.
2. Astronomy. the great circle of the celestial sphere that passes through its poles and the observer’s zenith.
3. a point or period of highest development, greatest prosperity, or the like.
4. (in acupuncture) any of the pathways in the body along which vital energy flows.

adjective

5. of or relating to a meridian.
6. of or relating to midday or noon: the meridian hour.
7. of or indicating a period of greatest prosperity, splendor, success, etc.

noun

1. a city in E Mississippi.

noun

1. 1. one of the imaginary lines joining the north and south poles at right angles to the equator, designated by degrees of longitude from 0° at Greenwich to 180°
   2. the great circle running through both polesSee prime meridian
2. astronomy
   1. the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the north and south celestial poles and the zenith and nadir of the observer
   2. (as modifier)a meridian instrument
3. Also called: meridian section maths a section of a surface of revolution, such as a paraboloid, that contains the axis of revolution
4. the peak; zeniththe meridian of his achievements
5. (in acupuncture, etc) any of the channels through which vital energy is believed to circulate round the body
6. obsolete noon

adjective

7. along or relating to a meridian
8. of or happening at noon
9. relating to the peak of something

n.mid-14c., “noon,” from Old French meridien “of the noon time, midday; the Meridian; southerner” (12c.), and directly from Latin meridianus “of midday, of noon, southerly, to the south,” from meridies “noon, south,” from meridie “at noon,” altered by dissimilation from pre-Latin *medi die, locative of medius “mid-” (see medial (adj.)) + dies “day” (see diurnal). Cartographic sense first recorded late 14c. Figurative uses tend to suggest “point of highest development or fullest power.” The city in Mississippi, U.S., was settled 1854 (as Sowashee Station) at a railway junction and given its current name in 1860, supposedly by people who thought meridian meant “junction” (they perhaps confused the word with median). n.

1. An imaginary line encircling a globular body at right angles to its equator and passing through its poles.
2. Either half of such a great circle from pole to pole.
3. Any of the longitudinal lines or pathways on the body along which the acupuncture points are distributed.

1. An imaginary line forming a great circle that passes through the Earth’s North and South geographic poles.
2. Either half of such a circle from pole to pole. All the places on the same meridian have the same longitude. See illustration at longitude.
3. See celestial meridian.

A great imaginary circle on the surface of the Earth that runs north and south through the North Pole and South Pole. Longitude is measured on meridians: places on a meridian have the same longitude. (See prime meridian.)