Etymologically
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nadir

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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.

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