nadir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈneɪdɪə/ (UK); /ˈneɪdɪɚ/, /ˈneɪdɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English nadir,^[2][3] borrowed from Medieval Latin nadir,^[2][4][5] from Arabic نظير (naẓīr, “opposite”), from the phrase naẓīr as-samt “opposite the zenith”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Merriam-Webster gives the route through Middle French.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In astronomy, a point in the heavens directly opposite another, especially the sun (about 1391).^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

By about 1495 the word named the point of the heavens directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.^[7][5] The transferred sense “the lowest point of anything; the time of greatest depression” is recorded by 1793.^[7][5]

Timeline

• about 1391 – a point diametrically opposite another in the heavens.^[7][4]
• about 1495 – the point directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.^[7]
• 1793 – the lowest point of anything.^[7][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The lowest point; the time of greatest adversity or despair.
2. (astronomy) The point of the celestial sphere directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.

Related words

• azimuth
• zenith

Usage notes

Random House lists bottom, floor, foot and depths as synonyms of the figurative sense.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press