[syn: prime, meridian]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
[1913 Webster]
Tables . . . to find the altitude meridian.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
2. Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as,
meridian splendor.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Meridian \Me*rid"i*an\, n. [F. m['e]ridien. See Meridian, a.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Midday; noon.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or
the like; culmination.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of
this life, and is fitted to the meridian thereof.
--Sir M. Hale.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
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]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
184 Moby Thesaurus words for "meridian":
Antarctic Zone, Arctic Circle, Arctic Zone, Frigid Zones,
Lambert conformal projection, Mercator projection,
Miller projection, Torrid Zone, Tropic of Cancer,
Tropic of Capricorn, Variable Zones, acmatic, acme,
aeronautical chart, apex, aphelion, apical, apogee,
astronomical chart, astronomical longitude, atlas,
autumnal equinox, azimuthal equidistant projection,
azimuthal projection, brow, cap, capital, cartographer,
cartography, celestial chart, celestial equator, celestial globe,
celestial longitude, celestial meridian, chart, chief,
chorographer, chorography, circle, climate, climatic chart, climax,
clime, cloud nine, colures, conic projection, consummate,
contour line, contour map, crest, crown, culmen, culmination,
cylindrical projection, ecliptic, edge, eight bells, equator,
equinoctial, equinoctial circle, equinoctial colure, equinox,
extreme limit, extremity, galactic longitude,
general reference map, geocentric longitude, geodetic longitude,
globe, gnomonic projection, graphic scale, great circle, grid line,
hachure, head, headmost, heaven, heavens, height,
heliocentric longitude, heliographic chart, high noon, highest,
highest pitch, highest point, horse latitudes, hydrographic chart,
index, isoline, latitude, layer tint, legend, limit, longitude,
longitude in arc, map, map maker, map projection, mapper, maximal,
maximum, meridiem, meridional, midday, mountaintop, ne plus ultra,
no place higher, noon, noonday, nooning, noonish, noonlight,
noonlit, noontide, noontime, orbit, overmost, parallel, paramount,
peak, perigee, perihelion, period, photogrammetrist,
photogrammetry, photomap, phototopography, physical map, pinnacle,
pitch, point, pole, political map, polyconic projection,
preeminent, prime meridian, projection, relief map,
representative fraction, ridge, road map, roaring forties, scale,
seventh heaven, sinusoidal projection, sky, small circle,
solstitial colure, special map, spire, subtropics, summit,
summital, supreme, terrain map, terrestrial globe, the line,
thematic map, tip, tip-top, top, topmost, topographer,
topographic chart, topography, trajectory, transportation map,
tropic, tropics, ultimate, upmost, upper extremity, uppermost,
utmost, vernal equinox, vertex, vertical, very top, weather chart,
weather map, zenith, zenithal, zodiac, zone
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, NY -- U.S. village in New York
Population (2000): 350
Housing Units (2000): 120
Land area (2000): 0.692018 sq. miles (1.792318 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.692018 sq. miles (1.792318 sq. km)
FIPS code: 46646
Located within: New York (NY), FIPS 36
Location: 43.163531 N, 76.535045 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, NY
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, CO -- U.S. Census Designated Place in Colorado
Population (2000): 184
Housing Units (2000): 140
Land area (2000): 7.610856 sq. miles (19.712025 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000962 sq. miles (0.002492 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 7.611818 sq. miles (19.714517 sq. km)
FIPS code: 50012
Located within: Colorado (CO), FIPS 08
Location: 39.548714 N, 104.850969 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, CO
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, ID -- U.S. city in Idaho
Population (2000): 34919
Housing Units (2000): 12293
Land area (2000): 11.788751 sq. miles (30.532723 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 11.788751 sq. miles (30.532723 sq. km)
FIPS code: 52120
Located within: Idaho (ID), FIPS 16
Location: 43.614229 N, 116.398963 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 83642
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, ID
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, OK -- U.S. town in Oklahoma
Population (2000): 54
Housing Units (2000): 31
Land area (2000): 0.198858 sq. miles (0.515041 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.198858 sq. miles (0.515041 sq. km)
FIPS code: 47800
Located within: Oklahoma (OK), FIPS 40
Location: 35.843545 N, 97.246625 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 73058
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, OK
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, OK -- U.S. Census Designated Place in Oklahoma
Population (2000): 1485
Housing Units (2000): 643
Land area (2000): 7.631141 sq. miles (19.764563 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.009790 sq. miles (0.025357 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 7.640931 sq. miles (19.789920 sq. km)
FIPS code: 47810
Located within: Oklahoma (OK), FIPS 40
Location: 34.416951 N, 97.969636 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 73058
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, OK
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, PA -- U.S. Census Designated Place in Pennsylvania
Population (2000): 3794
Housing Units (2000): 1524
Land area (2000): 2.836236 sq. miles (7.345817 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.004892 sq. miles (0.012669 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 2.841128 sq. miles (7.358486 sq. km)
FIPS code: 48728
Located within: Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
Location: 40.854415 N, 79.956359 W
ZIP Codes (1990):
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, PA
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, TX -- U.S. city in Texas
Population (2000): 1491
Housing Units (2000): 600
Land area (2000): 2.163088 sq. miles (5.602372 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.005137 sq. miles (0.013304 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 2.168225 sq. miles (5.615676 sq. km)
FIPS code: 47760
Located within: Texas (TX), FIPS 48
Location: 31.924649 N, 97.656668 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 76665
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, TX
Meridian
U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):
Meridian, MS -- U.S. city in Mississippi
Population (2000): 39968
Housing Units (2000): 17890
Land area (2000): 45.117740 sq. miles (116.854406 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.752075 sq. miles (1.947864 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 45.869815 sq. miles (118.802270 sq. km)
FIPS code: 46640
Located within: Mississippi (MS), FIPS 28
Location: 32.374841 N, 88.704160 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 39301 39305 39307
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Meridian, MS
Meridian