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aphelia

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅phe⋅li⋅on

  [uh-fee-lee-uhn, uh-feel-yuhn, ap-hee-lee-uhn]
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–noun, plural a⋅phe⋅li⋅a  [uh-fee-lee-uh, uh-feel-yuh, ap-hee-lee-uh] .
Astronomy. the point in the orbit of a planet or a comet at which it is farthest from the sun.
Compare perihelion.

Origin:
1650–60; Hellenized form of NL aphēlium < Gk *aphlion (diástēma) off-sun (distance), neut. of *aphlios (adj.), equiv. to ap- ap- 2 + hli(os) sun + -os adj. suffix. See apogee

Related forms:
a⋅phe⋅li⋅an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·phe·li·on   (ə-fē'lē-ən, ə-fēl'yən)   


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n.   pl. a·phe·li·a (-lē-ə)
The point on the orbit of a celestial body that is farthest from the sun.

[From New Latin aphēlium : Greek apo-, apo- + Greek hēlios, sun; see sāwel- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aphelion 
"point farthest from the sun (of a celestial body's orbit), 1676, from Mod.L. aphelium, the modern form an alteration by Johannes Kepler, based on Gk. apo heliou "away from the sun," from apo "away from" + heliou, gen. of helios "sun" (see sol). The whole was formed on the model of Ptolemaic apogæum (see apogee) to reflect the new helio-centric model of the universe.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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