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almucantar

American

[al-myoo-kan-ter] / ˈæl myuˌkæn 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

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