colure
[ kuh-loo r, koh-, koh-loo r ]
/ kəˈlʊər, koʊ-, ˈkoʊ lʊər /
noun Astronomy.
either of two great circles of the celestial sphere intersecting each other at the poles, one passing through both equinoxes and the other through both solstices.
Origin of colure
1540–50; < Late Latin
colūrus < Greek
kólouros dock-tailed, equivalent to
kól(os) docked +
-ouros -tailed, adj. derivative of
ourá tail; so called because the lower part is permanently hidden beneath the horizon
Words nearby colure
columnar jointing,
columnarized,
columnea,
columniation,
columnist,
colure,
colwyn bay,
coly,
colza,
colza oil,
colón
Example sentences from the Web for colure
For some reason, the equator, the colure, the zenith and the poles were all marked out by these serpentine or draconic forms.
The Astronomy of the Bible |E. Walter Maunder
British Dictionary definitions for colure
colure
/ (kəˈlʊə, ˈkəʊlʊə) /
noun
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 for colure
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