| 释义 |
zenith|ˈzɛnɪθ, ˈziːnɪθ|
Forms: 4–5 cinit, cenith, -yth, senith, -yth, 5 cenit, senit, 6 zenit, -ithe, -yth, ceneth, 6– zenith.
[a. OF. cenit(h (F. zénith) or med.L. cenit (cf. It. zenit, Sp. cenit, Pg. zenith, G. zenith, etc.), obscurely ad. Arab. samt, in samt ar-rās lit. way or path over the head (samt way, al the, rās head); cf. azimuth (al the, sumūt pl. of samt).]
1. The point of the sky directly overhead; the highest point of the celestial sphere as viewed from any particular place; the upper pole of the horizon (opp. to nadir).
† Sometimes, as in quots. 1555, 1638, used like a predicative adj. = in the zenith, ‘vertical’: cf. also quot. 1604.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 177 Cinit, þat is þe point þat is in þe welken euen aȝenst hem in þe oþer side of þe erþe. c1391Chaucer Astrol. i. §18 The centre þat standith a-Middes the narwest cercle is cleped the senyth{ddd}this forseide cenyth is ymagened to ben the verrey point ouer the crowne of thyn heued, & also this senyth is the verrey pool of the orisonte in euery regioun. Ibid. ii. §22 As fer is the heued of aries..from owre orisonte as is the cenyth fro the pole artik. c1495The Epitaffe, etc. in Skelton's Wks. (1843) II. 393 Creatures more maddyr In erthe none wandreth atwene senit and naddyr. 1549Compl. Scot. vi. 50 The point that is rycht abufe our hede is callit zenyth,..ande as oft as ve change fra place to place, as oft ve sal hef ane vthir zenytht. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 251 The sonne beinge there Zenith (that is the poynt of heauen directly ouer theyr heades) they felte greater heate..then when they were vnder the Equinoctiall line. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. ix. 101 When I passed, which was when the sun was there for Zenith, being entered into Aries. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 6 Shadowlesse, when Sol is Zenith. 1667Milton P.L. i. 745 From Morn To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve..; and with the setting Sun Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star. 1733Berkeley Th. Vision §60 As an object gradually ascends from the horizon towards the zenith. 1849H. W. Herbert Frank Forester I. 144 There was not a speck of cloud from east to west, from zenith to horizon. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 72 The stars..near the zenith shine with a steady light. 1885–94R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Mar. xxiv, She saw the evening light In shifting colour to the zenith tower.
†b. The point of the horizon at which a heavenly body rises; the point of intersection of an azimuth-circle with the horizon; hence by extension = azimuth 2. Obs.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. i. §19 Thise Azimutz seruen..for to knowe the cenyth of the sonne & of euery sterre. Ibid. ii. §33 To knowe the senyth of the Altitude of the sonne, &c... Any tyme of the day tak the altitude of the sonne, & by the Azymut in which he stondith, Maistou sen in which partie of the firmament he is.
†c. transf. Course towards the zenith. Obs.
1667Milton P.L. x. 329 Satan..Betwixt the Centaure and the Scorpion stearing His Zenith, while the Sun in Aries rose.
d. magnetic zenith: the point of the sky directly above the magnetic pole of the earth.
1885S. Tromholt Aur. Bor. x. I. 221 The Auroral Corona..is produced by the streamers shooting from every part of the sky towards a common point, viz., the magnetic zenith.
2. loosely. The expanse of sky overhead, the upper region of the sky; the highest or culminating point of a heavenly body.
[1592Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum L 2 b, If we beleeue, that men do liue Vnder the Zenith of both frozen Poles.] 1631Massinger Believe as you List i. ii, Two-and-twentye yeares of miserie..that longe time spent to Under distant zeniths. 1704Swift Batt. Bks. T. Tub, etc. 271 The conscious Moon, now in her Zenith. 1791E. Darwin Bot. Gard. i. 118 As Night's pale Queen..climbs the zenith. 1827–35N. P. Willis Starlight 11 Above To the far-stretching zenith. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 587 Huge trees that branch'd And blossom'd in the zenith. 1898E. V. Lucas Willow & Leather 106 Jack would..brandish the bat, And away the balls would go,..sometimes bang into the zenith.
3. fig. Highest point or state, culmination, climax, acme.
1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 181, I finde my Zenith doth depend vpon A most auspitious starre, whose influence If now I court not,..my fortunes Will euer after droope. 1627Donne Serm., Acts vii. 60 (1661) 214 Gods suffering for man was the Nadir the lowest point of Gods humiliation, mans suffering for God is the Zenith, the highest point of mans exaltation. 1643Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §17 The hand of God, whereby all Estates arise to their Zenith and verticall points. 1728Morgan Algiers I. iv. 149 In S. Augustine's Time, the Christian affairs seem to have been in their Zenith of Prosperity. 1820Byron Mar. Fal. iv. i, I left the festival before It reach'd its zenith. 1837Macaulay Ess., Bacon (1851) I. 377 Bacon had reached the zenith of his fortunes. 1884F. Harrison Choice of Bks. (1886) 251 Built..in the zenith of the pointed style, [Westminster Abbey] is one of the most exquisite examples of its class.
†b. Med. (See quot.) Obs.
1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Zenith,..a word used by some medical writers to express the first appearance of the menses in young women.
4. attrib. and Comb.
a. attrib. (quasi-adj.: cf. quots. 1555, 1638 in 1): Belonging to or situated in the zenith, directly overhead, as zenith sky, zenith star, zenith sun; also fig. (cf. 3) highest, supreme, culminating, as zenith happiness, zenith hour.
b. Astron., etc. In names of instruments used for determining the zenith distance (see c) of a heavenly body, as zenith sector, telescope, tube (see quots.).
c. Other special combs.: zenith-borne a., borne to or towards the zenith; zenith distance, the angular distance of a heavenly body from the zenith (the complement of its altitude or angular distance from the horizon); † zenith line, used for a vertical line or arc extending from the zenith to the horizon (= azimuth 1); so † zenith point, the point at which such a line meets the horizon (cf. sense 1 b); zenith sweep (sweep n. 7), a series of observations of a region of the sky passing through the zenith.
1886M. F. Tupper My Life as an Author 365 Liberty!.. Rise to thy height upon *zenith-borne wings!
1704J. Harris Lex. Techn., *Zenith Distance, is the Complement of the Sun, or Stars Meridian Altitude, or what the Meridian Altitude wants of 90 Degrees. 1854Tomlinson Arago's Astron. 41 Zenith-distances and azimuths form..a system of angles, by means of which it is easy to fix the positions of the stars with extreme precision. 1869Dunkin Midn. Sky 156 The zenith-distance of Gamma Draconis is daily observed at Greenwich.
1875W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 405 Scott's year of *zenith happiness.
1853Whittier Rantoul iii, Dead! in..That triumph of life's *zenith hour!
1596Blagrave Astrol. Uran. i. B j b, The 90. lower ends of the 90. *zenith lines, which before I called the 90. *zenith points.
1776Maskelyne Astron. Observ. I. Pref. p. ix, The *zenith sector,..constructed by that excellent artist Mr. Graham,..was fixed up at Wanstead in the year 1727, for the use of that great astronomer Dr. Bradley; who, from his first year's observations with it, discovered the apparent motion of the fixed stars, which he called the aberration of light. 1802A. Ellicott Jrnl. (1803) 185 The pack-horse-men likewise brought on my small zenith sector. 1829W. Pearson Pract. Astron. II. 531 The zenith sector..can be used only on the meridian; and its measures are referred to the zenith point of the place of observation. Its principal uses are to determine the latitude of the place of observation by a star of known zenith distance; to measure the zenith distance of a star..; and to ascertain the zenith point... The first zenith sector was..constructed by the ingenious Dr. Hooke [c 1700], with an intention of determining whether or not a fixed star has a measurable annual parallax.
1862F. T. Palgrave Hymn, ‘Lord God of morning and of night’ iii, The sun may stand in *zenith skies.
1817Shelley Rev. Islam vii. xx, When *zenith-stars were trembling on the wave. 1903Hardy Dynasts i. v. v, This Trafalgar Will..Pitt exalt As zenith-star of England's firmament.
1826Carrington Dartmoor 3 Deep-hued flowers that light Their tints at *zenith suns.
1789Herschel in Phil. Trans. LXXX. 10 My twenty-feet speculum was so much tarnished by *zenith sweeps, in which it had been..exposed to falling dews.
1834Pond ibid. CXXIV. 209 The erection of a *zenith telescope of twenty-five feet focal length.., for the purpose of measuring the zenith distance of γ Draconis.
1836G. B. Airy Autobiog. (1896) 123 The North Terrace was the official passage to the North-west Dome, where there was a miserable Equatoreal, and to the 25-foot *Zenith Tube. 1847Ibid. 184 On Nov. 13th I circulated an Address, proposing to discontinue the use of the Zenith Tube, because it had been found..that the Zenith Tube was not more accurate than the Mural Circle. 1869Dunkin Midn. Sky 15 The reflex zenith-tube.
Hence † zenithfer, a part of an astrolabe used for measuring zenith distances; ˈzenithward(s) adv., towards the zenith.
1596Blagrave Astrol. Uran. i. B 1, This Astrolabe hath three generall partes, that is to say, the Celestiall, the *Zenitfer with his Cursor, and the Almicantifer with his Pointer. Ibid. B 1 b, As farre as the Zenithfer will giue leaue.
1868Carlyle Jrnl. 8 June in J. A. Froude T. Carlyle (1884) II. xxxi. 371 It was as a ray of everlasting light and insight this, that had shot itself *zenithward from the soul of a man. 1871A. Stewart Nether Lochaber xxii. (1883) 128 The meridian sun..is..climbing zenithwards. 1881Traill in Nature 10 Feb. 351/1 The streamers..still ascending zenithward. |