[az-uh-muh
th] 
| 1. | Astronomy, Navigation. the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon. |
| 2. | Surveying, Gunnery. the angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing from a standard direction, as from north or south. |
[az-uh-muhth-uhl] , adjective | az·i·muth (āz'ə-məth) n.
[Middle English azimut, from Old French, from Arabic as-sumūt, pl. of as-samt, the way, compass bearing : al-, the + samt, way (from Latin sēmita, path; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots).] az'i·muth'al (-mŭth'əl) adj., az'i·muth'al·ly adv. |
| azimuth (āz'ə-məth) Pronunciation Key
The position of a celestial object along an observer's horizon. Azimuth is a horizontal angle measured clockwise in degrees from a reference direction, usually the north or south point of the horizon, to the point on the horizon intersected by the object's line of altitude (a line from the observer's zenith through the object to the horizon). If north is the reference point (0°), then east has an azimuth of 90°, south is 180°, and so forth through 360°. See more at altazimuth coordinate system. |