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declination - 6 dictionary results

dec⋅li⋅na⋅tion

  [dek-luh-ney-shuhn]
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–noun
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.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME declinacioun < OF declinacion < L dēclīnātiōn- (s. of dēclīnātiō), equiv. to dēclīnāt(us), lit., turned aside (ptp. of dēclīnāre; see decline, -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
dec⋅li⋅na⋅tion⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dec·li·na·tion   (děk'lə-nā'shən)   
n.  
  1. A sloping or bending downward.
  2. A falling off, especially from prosperity or vigor; a decline.
  3. A deviation, as from a specific direction or standard.
  4. A refusal to accept.
  5. Magnetic declination.
  6. Astronomy The angular distance to a point on a celestial object, measured north or south from the celestial equator.

[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.
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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Declination

Dec`li*na"tion\, n. [L. declinatio a bending aside, an avoiding: cf. F. d['e]clination a decadence. See Declension.]

1. The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as, declination of the head.

2. The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy." --Bacon.

Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. --Waller.

3. The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion; obliquity; withdrawal.

The declination of atoms in their descent. --Bentley.

Every declination and violation of the rules. --South.

4. The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal; refusal; averseness.

The queen's declination from marriage. --Stow.

5. (Astron.) The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward.

6. (Dialing) The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.

7. (Gram.) The act of inflecting a word; declension. See Decline, v. t., 4.

Angle of declination, the angle made by a descending line, or plane, with a horizontal plane.

Circle of declination, a circle parallel to the celestial equator.

Declination compass (Physics), a compass arranged for finding the declination of the magnetic needle.

Declination of the compass or needle, the horizontal angle which the magnetic needle makes with the true north-and-south line.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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declination dec·li·na·tion (děk'lə-nā'shən)
n.

  1. A bending, sloping, or other deviation from a normal vertical position.
  2. 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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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declination   (děk'lə-nā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. On the celestial sphere, the position of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator. Declination is measured in degrees along a great circle drawn through the object being measured and the north and south celestial poles, with positive values north of the celestial equator and negative values south of it, so that the equator itself is 0° and the north and south celestial poles are +90° and -90° declination respectively. See more at equatorial coordinate system.
  2. See magnetic declination.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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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).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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