either of two great circles on the celestial sphere, one of which passes through the celestial poles and the equinoxes and the other through the poles and the solstices
Word origin
C16: from Late Latin colūrī (plural), from Greek kolourai cut short, dock-tailed, from kolos docked + oura tail; so called because the view of the lower part is curtailed
colure in American English
(koʊˈlʊr; kəˈlʊr; ˈkoʊˌlʊr)
noun
either of two great circles of the celestial sphere intersecting each other at right angles at the celestial poles: one passes through the solstices (solstitial colure), the other through the equinoxes (equinoctial colure)
Word origin
< L coluri < Gr kolouroi, the colures, lit., dock-tailed (ones), pl. of kolouros < kolos, docked (see holt) + oura, tail (see uro-2): the “tail” (i.e., the lower part) is cut off from view by the horizon