equator Hear it!

equator definition

equa·tor (ē kwāt′ər, i-)

noun

  1. an imaginary circle around the earth, equally distant at all points from both the North and South Poles: it divides the earth's surface into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
  2. a circle like this around any celestial body
  3. any circle that divides a sphere or other body into two equal and symmetrical parts
  4. celestial equator

Etymology: ME < ML < LL aequator, lit., one who makes equal: see equate

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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