apogee English · revision 1480

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1594}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæp.ə.d͡ʒi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|apogée]] or [[la-new|apogaeum]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[grc|ἀπόγαιον|tr=apógaion]], short for [[m|grc|ἀπόγαιον διάστημα|tr=apógaion diástēma|t=distance away from the earth]],^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)^(Hoad 1986) the neuter of [[m|grc|ἀπόγαιος|tr=apógaios|t=far from the earth]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[m|grc|ἀπό|tr=apó|t=away from]] (see [[apo-]]) and [[m|grc|γαῖα|tr=gaîa]], [[m|grc|γῆ|tr=gê|t=earth]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The point in the orbit of the moon or a planet at which it is farthest from the earth (1594 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The term comes from Ptolemaic astronomy, which put the earth at the centre of the universe, and dates back to Ptolemy in the 2nd century.^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) It was also used of the sun's greatest altitude, its meridian height on the longest day (1605, now obsolete).^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, the highest point or culmination, is recorded from 1600 in the OED and Barnhart, but from the 1640s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) In the space age it named the highest point of a rocket's trajectory (1958) and the point of an artificial satellite's orbit farthest from the earth.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[aphelion]] was formed in imitation of it.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1594 – the farthest point of an orbit from the earth.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1600 – the highest point, culmination.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1605 – the sun's greatest altitude (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1958 – the highest point of a rocket's path.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The point in the orbit of the moon or an artificial [[satellite]] farthest from the centre of the earth; also the point farthest from any body being orbited.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The highest or farthest point; the [[culmination]] or [[apex]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[apogean]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[perigee]]

+ * [[aphelion]]

+ * [[geo-]]

+ * [[zenith]]

+ * [[acme]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}