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equator

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e⋅qua⋅tor

[i-kwey-ter]
–noun
1. the great circle on a sphere or heavenly body whose plane is perpendicular to the axis, equidistant everywhere from the two poles of the sphere or heavenly body.
2. the great circle of the earth that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.
3. a circle separating a surface into two congruent parts.
4. celestial equator.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < ML aequātor, L: equalizer (of day and night, as when the sun crosses the equator). See equate, -tor

celestial equator

–noun Astronomy, Navigation.
the great circle of the celestial sphere, lying in the same plane as the earth's equator.


Origin:
1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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e·qua·tor   (ĭ-kwā'tər)   


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n.  
    1. The imaginary great circle around the earth's surface, equidistant from the poles and perpendicular to the earth's axis of rotation. It divides the earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

    2. A similar great circle drawn on the surface of a celestial body at right angles to the axis of rotation.

  1. The celestial equator.

  2. A circle that divides a sphere or other surface into congruent parts.


[Middle English, from Medieval Latin aequātor (diēī et noctis), equalizer (of day and night), from Latin aequāre, to equalize; see equate.]
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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Cultural Dictionary

equator

An imaginary circle around the Earth, equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

equator 
c.1391, from M.L. æquator diei et noctis "equalizer of day and night" (when the sun is on the celestial equator, twice annually, day and night are of equal length), from L. æquare "make equal, equate." Sense of "celestial equator" is earliest, extension to "terrestrial line midway between the poles" first recorded in Eng. 1612.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: equa·tor
Pronunciation: i-'kwAt-&r, 'E-"
Function: noun
1 : a circle or circular band dividing the surface of a body into twousually equal and symmetrical parts especially at the place of greatest width equator of the lens of the eye>
2 : EQUATORIAL PLANE equator of the cell —R. P. Levine>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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