equatorial

[ee-kwuh-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-, ek-wuh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR equatorial ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, relating to, or near an equator, especially the equator of the earth.

of, like, or typical of the regions at the earth's equator: equatorial temperatures.

noun

a telescope mounting having two axes of motion, one parallel to the earth's axis and one at right angles to it.

a telescope with such a mounting.

Origin of equatorial

First recorded in 1655–65; equator + -ial

Related formse·qua·to·ri·al·ly, adverbnon·e·qua·to·ri·al, adjectivenon·e·qua·to·ri·al·ly, adverbtrans·e·qua·to·ri·al, adjectivetrans·e·qua·to·ri·al·ly, adverbun·e·qua·to·ri·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for equatorial

tropic, central, torrid

Examples from the Web for equatorial

Contemporary Examples of equatorial

Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have been floated as possibilities.
Gaddafi's Best Friend in Europe
Barbie Latza Nadeau
March 23, 2011
The bodies hung there for weeks, reeking and swelling grotesquely in the equatorial heat.
Top 10 Clues DeLay Was Born to Dance
Lloyd Grove
August 17, 2009

Historical Examples of equatorial

The tropical forms all disappear in these zones, as the equatorial do in the tropical zones.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright
At that time the declination of the sun is 23½ north of the equatorial line.
The Solar Magnet
Sterner St. Paul Meek
We may therefore say that the equatorial circumference of the earth is 20,400 miles.
The Discovery of America Vol. 1 (of 2)
John Fiske.
This is a rough stone, not worked save in an equatorial groove.
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895
Jesse Walter Fewkes
This equatorial form is, moreover, what all the astronomers were expecting.
Astronomy for Amateurs
Camille Flammarion

British Dictionary definitions for equatorial

equatorial

adjective

of, like, or existing at or near the equator

astronautics (of a telescope) mounted on the perpendicular axes, one of which is parallel to the earth's axisan equatorial orbit

astronomy of or referring to the celestial equatorequatorial coordinates

noun

an equatorial mounting for a telescope

Derived Formsequatorially, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for equatorial

adj.

1660s, from equator + -al (1).