[dek-luh-ney-shuh
n] 
| 1. | a bending, sloping, or moving downward. |
| 2. | deterioration; decline. |
| 3. | a swerving or deviating, as from a standard. |
| 4. | a polite refusal. |
| 5. | Astronomy. the angular distance of a heavenly body from the celestial equator, measured on the great circle passing through the celestial pole and the body. |
| 6. | variation (def. 8). |
| 7. | the formal refusal by a nominee of a nomination to public office. |
| dec·li·na·tion (děk'lə-nā'shən) n.
[Middle English declinacioun, from Old French declination, from Latin dēclīnātiō, dēclīnātiōn-, from dēclīnātus, past participle of dēclīnāre, to turn away; see decline.] dec'li·na'tion·al adj. |
declination dec·li·na·tion (děk'lə-nā'shən)
n.
A bending, sloping, or other deviation from a normal vertical position.
A deviation of the vertical meridian of the eye to one or the other side due to rotation of the eyeball about its anteroposterior axis.
declination
in astronomy, the angular distance of a body north or south of the celestial equator. Declination and right ascension, an east-west coordinate, together define the position of an object in the sky. North declination is considered positive and south, negative. Thus, +90 declination marks the north celestial pole, 0 the celestial equator, and -90 the south celestial pole. The usual symbol for declination is the lowercase Greek letter delta (delta).
Learn more about declination with a free trial on Britannica.com.
