Hypertext Webster Gateway: "nadir"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Nadir \Na"dir\, n. [F., Sp., & It. nadir; all fr. Ar.
nas[=i]ru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith
(as samt), in which nas[=i]r means alike, corresponding to.
Cf. {Azimuth}, {Zenith}.]
1. That point of the heavens, or lower hemisphere, directly
opposite the zenith; the inferior pole of the horizon; the
point of the celestial sphere directly under the place
where we stand.
2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression.
The seventh century is the nadir of the human mind
in Europe. --Hallam.
{Nadir of the sun} (Astron.), the axis of the conical shadow
projected by the earth. --Crabb.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
nadir
n 1: an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything
[syn: {low-water mark}]
2: the point below the observer that is directly opposite the
zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial
bodies appear to be projected [ant: {zenith}]
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