nadir English · revision 2418

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈneɪdɪə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈneɪdɪɚ/, /ˈneɪdɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|nadir]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|la-med|nadir]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|ar|نظير|tr=naẓīr|t=opposite]], from the phrase ''naẓīr as-samt'' “opposite the zenith”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster gives the route through Middle French.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In astronomy, a point in the heavens directly opposite another, especially the sun (about 1391).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1495 the word named the point of the heavens directly below the observer, opposite the [[zenith]].^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The transferred sense “the lowest point of anything; the time of greatest depression” is recorded by 1793.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1391 – a point diametrically opposite another in the heavens.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1495 – the point directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1793 – the lowest point of anything.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The lowest point; the time of greatest adversity or despair.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The point of the celestial sphere directly below the observer, opposite the zenith.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[azimuth]]

+ * [[zenith]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House lists ''bottom'', ''floor'', ''foot'' and ''depths'' as synonyms of the figurative sense.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}