Hypertext Webster Gateway: "equator"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Equator \E*qua"tor\, n. [L. aequator one who equalizes: cf. F.
['e]quateur equator. See {Equate}.]
1. (Geog.) The imaginary great circle on the earth's surface,
everywhere equally distant from the two poles, and
dividing the earth's surface into two hemispheres.
2. (Astron.) The great circle of the celestial sphere,
coincident with the plane of the earth's equator; -- so
called because when the sun is in it, the days and nights
are of equal length; hence called also the {equinoctial},
and on maps, globes, etc., the {equinoctial line}.
{Equator} {of the sun or of a planet} (Astron.), the great
circle whose plane passes through through the center of
the body, and is perpendicular to its axis of revolution.
{Magnetic equator}. See {Aclinic}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
equator
n 1: an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle
that is equidistant from the north and south poles; "the
equator is the boundary between the northern and
southern hemispheres"
2: a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two usually
equal and symmetrical parts
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