zenith
[zee-nith or, esp. British, zen-ith]
- the point on the celestial sphere vertically above a given position or observer.Compare nadir.
- a highest point or state; culmination.
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Origin of zenith
1350–1400; Middle English cenith < Medieval Latin < Old Spanish zenit, scribal error for zemt < Arabic samt road, incorrectly read as senit by medieval scribes (compare Arabic samt ar-rās road above (over) one's head, the opposite of nadir)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
1, 2. nadir.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
climax, crown, height, eminence, payoff, culmination, apex, altitude, crest, meridian, elevation, vertex, peak, pinnacle, acme, cap, roof, apogee, summit, tiptopExamples from the Web for zenith
Contemporary Examples
This reached its zenith when he and Jon Stewart held their Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear in 2010.
In his own mind he is at the zenith of his life, a man in full.
The major labor unions - then at the zenith of their political power - disliked Johnson.
In 1986, at the zenith of her strength, that figure was reduced to 1.9 million.
(a) The early 1990s were the period of the crack epidemic, the zenith of American gun crime.
Historical Examples
The Gladstone period had passed its zenith and its decadence had already begun.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
But no human being had interfered with their journey, and their hopes rose to the zenith.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
At the moment of his return to Thessaly he had reached the zenith of his greatness.
HellenicaXenophon
Now these Phliasians were friends of Lacedaemon while at the zenith of her power.
HellenicaXenophon
The Cherubim and Seraphim have wings that elevate them above our zenith.
zenith
- astronomy the point on the celestial sphere vertically above an observer
- the highest point; peak; acmethe zenith of someone's achievements
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Compare nadir
Word Origin
C17: from French cenith, from Medieval Latin, from Old Spanish zenit, based on Arabic samt, as in samt arrās path over one's head, from samt way, path + al the + rās head
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for zenith
n.
late 14c., from Old French cenith (Modern French zénith), from Medieval Latin cenit, senit, bungled scribal transliterations of Arabic samt "road, path," abbreviation of samt ar-ras, literally "the way over the head." Letter -m- misread as -ni-.
The Medieval Latin word could as well be influenced by the rough agreement of the Arabic term with classical Latin semita "sidetrack, side path" (notion of "thing going off to the side"), from se- "apart" + *mi-ta-, suffixed zero-grade form of PIE root *mei- "to change" (see mutable).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
zenith
[zē′nĭth]
- The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer (90 degrees above the celestial horizon). Compare nadir.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.