almucantar
[ al-myoo-kan-ter ]
/ ˈæl myuˌkæn tər /
noun Astronomy.
a circle on the celestial sphere parallel to the horizon; the locus of all points of a given altitude.
Also called
parallel of altitude.
Origin of almucantar
1350–1400; probably < Medieval Latin
almucantarath < Arabic
al-muqanṭarāt the almucantars, equivalent to
al the +
muquanṭarāt sundial, derivative of
qanṭarah arch; replacing
almicanter, Middle English
almicanteras (plural) < Middle French
almicantarath < Medieval Latin
Words nearby almucantar
British Dictionary definitions for almucantar
almucantar
almacantar
/ (ˌælməˈkæntə) /
noun
a circle on the celestial sphere parallel to the horizontal plane
an instrument for measuring altitudes
Word Origin for almucantar
C14: from French, from Arabic
almukantarāt sundial