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perigee

perigee


per·i·gee    Audio Help   (pěr'ə-jē)   

n.  

  1. The point nearest the earth's center in the orbit of the moon or a satellite.

  2. The point in any orbit nearest to the body being orbited.


[French périgée, from Medieval Latin perigēum, from Late Greek perigeion : Greek peri-, peri- + Greek gē, earth.]
per'i·ge'al (-jē'əl), per'i·ge'an (-jē'ən) adj.
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