Meaning and Origin
What does the name Meridian mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from Syrian Arab Republic, the name Meridian is of English origin and means "Circle drawn around thing".
- A submission from California, U.S. says the name Meridian means "Highest point to God" and is of Greek origin.
- Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in his diurnal course." Meridianhour." [Milton.]"Tables . . . to find the altitude meridian." [Chaucer.]
- Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as, meridian splendor.
Etymology: F. méridien, L. meridianus pertaining to noon, fr. meridies noon, midday, for older medidies; medius mid, middle + dies day. See Mid, and Diurnal
- Midday; noon.
- 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.]
- [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.
- [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."All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of this life, and is fitted to the meridian there of." [Sir M. Hale.]
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.
Etymology: F. méridien. See Meridian (a.)
- 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")
- A town in eastern Mississippi
- The highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development
- Being at the best stage of development
- Of or happening at noon ("meridian hour")
From Middle English, a borrowing from Old French, from Latin meridianus (“of or belonging to midday or to the south, southern”), from meridies (“midday, the south”), originally *medidies, from medius (“middle”) + diēs (“day”).
- (geography) An imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles.
- Either half of such a great circle, all points of which have the same longitude.
- (astronomy) A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and the zenith for a particular observer.
- (mathematics) A similar line on any general surface of revolution.
- (alternative medicine) Any of the pathways on the body along which the vital energy is thought to flow and, therefore, the acupoints are distributed.
- The highest point, as of success, prosperity, etc.; culmination.
- (printing, US, dated) The size of type between double great primer and canon, standardized as 44-point.