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7 dictionary results for: Equinox

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

e·qui·nox

[ee-kwuh-noks, ek-wuh-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (vernal equinox or spring equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox).

2.	either of the equinoctial points.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < ML equinoxium, for L aequinoctium the time of equal days and nights (aequi- equi- + noct- (s. of nox) night + -ium -ium)

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

e·qui·nox (ē'kwə-nŏks', ěk'wə-) Pronunciation Key

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n.

Either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator.
Either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equator and when the length of day and night are approximately equal; the vernal equinox or the autumnal equinox.

[Middle English, from Old French equinoxe, from Medieval Latin aequinoxium, from Latin aequinoctium : aequi-, equi- + nox, noct-, night; see nek^w-t- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
equinox

c.1391, from O.Fr. equinoxe, from M.L. equinoxium "equality of night (and day)," from L. æquinoctium, from æquus "equal" + nox (gen. noctis) "night." The O.E. translation was efnniht.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

equinox
noun
1.	either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length
2.	(astronomy) either of the two celestial points at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic [syn: equinoctial point]

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

equinox (ē'kwə-nŏks') Pronunciation Key

Either of the two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun) crosses the celestial equator. The point at which the Sun's path crosses the celestial equator moving from south to north is called the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox marks the zero point in both the equatorial and ecliptic coordinate systems; horizontal angular distances (right ascension in the equatorial system and celestial longitude in the ecliptic system) are measured eastward from this point. The vernal equinox is also known as the first point of Aries because when first devised some 2,000 years ago this point occurred at the beginning of Aries in the zodiac. Because of the westward precession of the equinoxes, the vernal equinox is now located at the beginning of Pisces. The point at which the Sun's path crosses the celestial equator moving from north to south is called the autumnal equinox.
Either of the two corresponding moments of the year when the Sun is directly above the Earth's equator. The vernal equinox occurs on March 20 or 21 and the autumnal equinox on September 22 or 23, marking the beginning of spring and autumn, respectively, in the Northern Hemisphere (and the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere). The days on which an equinox falls have about equal periods of sunlight and darkness. Compare solstice.

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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
equinox [(ee-kwuh-noks, ek-wuh-noks)]

The twice yearly times when the lengths of day and night are equal. At equinox, the sun is directly over the Earth's equator. The vernal equinox occurs about March 22 and the autumnal equinox about September 21.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Equinox

E"qui*nox\, n. [OE. equinoxium, equenoxium, L. aequinoctium; aequus equal + nox, noctis, night: cf. F. ['e]quinoxe. See Equal, and Night.]

1. The time when the sun enters one of the equinoctial points, that is, about March 21 and September 22. See Autumnal equinox, Vernal equinox, under Autumnal and Vernal.

When descends on the Atlantic The gigantic Stormwind of the equinox. --Longfellow.

2. Equinoctial wind or storm. [R.] --Dryden.

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