equator

[ ih-kwey-ter ]
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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.

  1. a circle separating a surface into two congruent parts.

Origin of equator

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Medieval Latin aequātor,Latin: equalizer (of day and night, as when the sun crosses the equator). See equate, -tor

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British Dictionary definitions for equator

equator

/ (ɪˈkweɪtə) /


noun
  1. the great circle of the earth with a latitude of 0°, lying equidistant from the poles; dividing the N and S hemispheres

  2. a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two equal symmetrical parts

Origin of equator

1
C14: from Medieval Latin (circulus) aequātor (diei et noctis) (circle) that equalizes (the day and night), from Latin aequāre to make equal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for equator

equator

[ ĭ-kwātər ]


  1. An imaginary line forming a great circle around the Earth's surface, equidistant from the poles and in a plane perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. It divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres and is the basis from which latitude is measured.

  2. A similar circle on the surface of any celestial body.

  1. The celestial equator.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for equator

equator

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.