Gibbous definition
Designating the moon, a planet, etc. in that phase in which more than half, but not all, of the face reflects sunlight to the earth.
adjective
More than half but less than fully illuminated. Used to describe the Moon or a planet.
Humpbacked; kyphotic.
adjective
The definition of gibbous refers to a moon in between a half-moon but less than a full moon, or something that protrudes or creates an obvious bulge.
When the moon is more than half full, this is an example of a gibbous moon.
When you have a humpback, this is an example of a gibbous back.
adjective
(archaic) Having a hump; humpbacked.
adjective
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Characterized by convexity; protuberant.
A gibbous seashell.
adjective
More than half but less than fully illuminated from the point of view of an observer. Used of phases of the moon or the planets.
adjective
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Protuberant; rounded and bulging.
adjective
Origin of gibbous
- Middle English bulging from Late Latin gibbōsus hunch-backed from Latin gibbus hump
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English, from Latin gibbus (“humped, hunched”), probably cognate with cubō (“bend oneself, lie down”), Italian gobba (“humpback”), Greek κύφος (kýfos, “humpback, bent”), κύβος (kývos, “cube, vertebra”).
From Wiktionary