semimajor axis

[sem-ee-mey-jer, sem-ahy-, sem-ee-, sem-ahy-]

sem·i·ma·jor ax·is

[sem-ee-mey-jer, sem-ahy-, sem-ee-, sem-ahy-]
noun
1.
Geometry. one half the major axis of an ellipse.
2.
Astronomy. one half the major axis of the ellipse that one celestial body describes around another, as a planet around the sun or a satellite around a planet, equivalent to the mean distance between the two bodies.

Origin:
1925–30; semi- + major
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Semimajor_axis has a plethora of syllables.
So is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Does it mean:
given to using long words.
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
WordNet
semimajor axis

noun
one-half the major axis of an ellipse; the distance from the center of an ellipse to one end 
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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