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elongation

 - 5 dictionary results

e⋅lon⋅ga⋅tion

  [i-lawng-gey-shuhn, i-long-, ee-lawng-, ee-long-]
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–noun
1. the act of elongating or the state of being elongated.
2. something that is elongated.
3. Astronomy. the angular distance, measured from the earth, between a planet or the moon and the sun or between a satellite and the planet about which it revolves.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL ēlongātiōn- (s. of ēlongātiō), equiv. to ēlongāt(us) (see elongate ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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e·lon·ga·tion   (ĭ-lông'gā'shən, ĭ-lŏng'-, ē'lông-, ē'lŏng-)   
n.  

  1. The act of elongating or the condition of being elongated.

  2. Something that elongates; an extension.

  3. The angular distance between two celestial bodies as seen from Earth.

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

elongation 
1391, from L.L. elongationem (nom. elongatio), from elongare "remove to a distance," from L. ex- "out" + longus "long" (see long (adj.)). Elongate is c.1540. The Fr. form eloign was borrowed (1535) in the legal sense "to remove to a distance" (esp. to avoid the law).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: elon·ga·tion
Pronunciation: (")E-"lo[ng]-'gA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the state of being elongated or lengthened;also : the process of growing or increasing in length elongation in DNA synthesis> elongation of a muscle under tension>
2 : something that is elongated
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

elongation

in astronomy, the angular distance in celestial longitude separating the Moon or a planet from the Sun. The greatest elongation possible for the two inferior planets (those closer than the Earth to the Sun) is about 48 in the case of Venus and about 28 in that of Mercury. Elongation may also refer to the angular distance of any celestial body from another around which it revolves or from a particular point in the sky; e.g., the extreme east or west position of a star with reference to the north celestial pole.

Learn more about elongation with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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