almucantar

American

[al-myoo-kan-ter] / ˈæl mjuˌkæn tər /

noun

Astronomy.

a circle on the celestial sphere parallel to the horizon; the locus of all points of a given altitude.

almucantar British

/ ˌælməˈkæntə /

noun

a circle on the celestial sphere parallel to the horizontal plane
an instrument for measuring altitudes

"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

Etymology

Origin of almucantar

1350–1400; probably < Medieval Latin almucantarath < Arabic al-muqanṭarāt the almucantars, equivalent to al the + muquanṭarāt sundial, derivative of qanṭarah arch; replacing almicanter, Middle English almicanteras (plural) < Middle French almicantarath < Medieval Latin

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

almucantar

Two stars which have the same almucantar have the same altitude.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023