hemisphere
[hem-i-sfeer]
- (often initial capital letter) half of the terrestrial globe or celestial sphere, especially one of the halves into which the earth is divided.Compare Eastern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere.
- a map or projection representing one of these halves.
- a half of a sphere.
- Anatomy. either of the lateral halves of the cerebrum or cerebellum.
- the area within which something occurs or dominates; sphere; realm.
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Origin of hemisphere
1325–75; < Latin hēmisphaerium < Greek hēmisphaírion; replacing Middle English emysperie < Old French emispere < Latin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hemisphere
Contemporary Examples
The optimism across the hemisphere was obvious, but many challenges remain.
Venezuela Says Goodbye to Its Lil Friend, While the Rest of the Continent CheersCatalina Lobo-Guererro
December 20, 2014
Polio, for example, has been eradicated in the Western hemisphere thanks to a vigorous international immunization program.
And while important for the world stage, the nations of the hemisphere are doubly so for the United States.
Inflation, now pushing 28 percent, is the worst in the hemisphere.
And as long as oil is flowing, Chávez will continue to the pump the Bolivarian dream across the hemisphere.
Historical Examples
Human freedom is on the march, and nowhere more so than our own hemisphere.
Be sure that the stop valve in the neck of the hemisphere is open.
Common ScienceCarleton W. Washburne
Hemi” means “half,” so each half of the globe is called a “hemisphere.
Where We LiveEmilie Van Beil Jacobs
In this hemisphere this is in each case the highest point north.
A Field Book of the StarsWilliam Tyler Olcott
Crude: of course he was crude; he had a hemisphere for his canvas.
A Preface to PoliticsWalter Lippmann
hemisphere
- one half of a sphere
- half of the terrestrial globe, divided into northern and southern hemispheres by the equator or into eastern and western hemispheres by some meridians, usually 0° and 180°
- a map or projection of one of the hemispheres
- either of the two halves of the celestial sphere that lie north or south of the celestial equator
- anatomy short for cerebral hemisphere
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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 hemisphere
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hemisphere
(hĕm′ĭ-sfîr′)- A half of a symmetrical spherical structure as divided by a plane of symmetry.
- Either of the lateral halves of the cerebrum; a cerebral hemisphere.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
hemisphere
[hĕm′ĭ-sfîr′]
- One half of a sphere, formed by a plane that passes through the center of the sphere.
- Either the northern or southern half of the Earth as divided by the equator, or the eastern or western half as divided by a meridian, especially the prime meridian.
- One half of the celestial sphere as divided by any of various great circles, especially the celestial equator and the ecliptic. See more at celestial sphere.
- See cerebral hemisphere.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
hemisphere
Any half of the Earth's surface.
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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.