SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN noun Astronomy the point on the celestial sphere directly beneath a given position or observer and diametrically opposite the zenith.
Astrology the point of a horoscope opposite the midheaven: the cusp of the fourth house.
the lowest point; point of greatest adversity or despair.
Origin of nadir 1350–1400; Middle English ≪ Arabic naẓīr over against, opposite to (the zenith)
Related forms na·dir·al , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nadir Contemporary Examples of nadir The stock market has gone nuts, more than doubling since its March 2009 nadir .
Worse even than what I consider his nadir thus far, the 2011 debt-ceiling fiasco.
At its nadir , on September 4, 2012, Facebook closed below $18.
The debt debacle of 2011 was far and away the nadir of his first term.
However, the nadir of his married life was when Rather just barely remembered to call his wife on her birthday.
Historical Examples of nadir They were written at the time when the Imperial spirit was at its nadir .
The nadir is the lowest point in the heavens and the zenith is the highest.
The sun does not spring at once from the nadir to the zenith.
It is also on record that Nadir Shah took guns as far as Saighan.
Such were the counsels of the sage; and Nadir departed to begin life.
British Dictionary definitions for nadir noun the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer and diametrically opposite the zenith
the lowest or deepest point; depths the nadir of despair
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Word Origin for nadir C14: from Old French, from Arabic nazīr as-samt, literally: opposite the zenith
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for nadir n. late 14c., in astronomical sense, from Medieval Latin nadir , from Arabic nazir "opposite to," in nazir as-samt , literally "opposite of the zenith," from nazir "opposite" + as-samt "zenith" (see zenith ). Transferred sense of "lowest point (of anything)" is first recorded 1793.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
The point on the celestial sphere that is directly below the observer (90 degrees below the celestial horizon ). Compare zenith .
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
