azimuth
[az-uh-muh th]
- Astronomy, Navigation. the arc of the horizon measured clockwise from the south point, in astronomy, or from the north point, in navigation, to the point where a vertical circle through a given heavenly body intersects the horizon.
- Surveying, Gunnery. the angle of horizontal deviation, measured clockwise, of a bearing from a standard direction, as from north or south.
Origin of azimuth
1350–1400; Middle English azimut < Middle French ≪ Arabic as sumūt the ways (i.e., directions)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for azimuth
Contemporary Examples
Variables like weather, azimuth, elevation, crude launchers, and rocket viability quickly add up.
Historical Examples
To find an azimuth of the sun: Note the time of taking the azimuth by chronometer.
Lectures in NavigationErnest Gallaudet Draper
At the same time, get your true bearing of the sun from the Azimuth Tables.
Lectures in NavigationErnest Gallaudet Draper
These were the chronometer and the azimuth compass of the Bounty.
The Lonely IslandR.M. Ballantyne
Observations for azimuth were always taken to the sun before and after noon.
The Andes of Southern PeruIsaiah Bowman
The observation gives us the altitude and azimuth of the star.
The Royal Observatory GreenwichE. Walter (Edwared Walter) Maunder
azimuth
- astronomy nautical the angular distance usually measured clockwise from the north point of the horizon to the intersection with the horizon of the vertical circle passing through a celestial bodyCompare altitude (def. 3)
- surveying the horizontal angle of a bearing clockwise from a standard direction, such as north
Word Origin
C14: from Old French azimut, from Arabic as-sumūt, plural of as-samt the path, from Latin semita path
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for azimuth
n.
"distance of a star from the north or south point of the meridian," late 14c., from Old French azimut, from Arabic as-sumut "the ways," plural of as-samt "the way, direction" (see zenith).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
azimuth
[ăz′ə-məth]
- The position of a celestial object along an observer's horizon. Azimuth is a horizontal angle measured clockwise in degrees from a reference direction, usually the north or south point of the horizon, to the point on the horizon intersected by the object's line of altitude (a line from the observer's zenith through the object to the horizon). If north is the reference point (0°), then east has an azimuth of 90°, south is 180°, and so forth through 360°. See more at altazimuth coordinate system.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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