nadir : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: nadir	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for nadir
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
nadir n an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything Synonym(s): nadir, low-water mark the point below the observer that is directly opposite the zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected Antonym(s): zenith
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Nadir \Na"dir\, n. [F., Sp., & It. nadir; all fr. Ar. nas[c6]ru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith (as samt), in which nas[c6]r means alike, corresponding to. Cf. {Azimuth}, {Zenith}.] 1. That point of the heavens, or lower hemisphere, directly opposite the zenith; the inferior pole of the horizon; the point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where we stand. 2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression. The seventh century is the nadir of the human mind in Europe. --Hallam. {Nadir of the sun} (Astron.), the axis of the conical shadow projected by the earth. --Crabb.