gibbous

gib·bous

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.

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"gibbous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous>.

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gibbous. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous

gibbous

protuberant; rounded and bulging
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
humpbacked; kyphotic

Origin of gibbous

Middle English from Classical Latin gibbosus from gibba: see gib

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"gibbous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous>.

APA Style

gibbous. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous

gibbous

adjective

a. Characterized by convexity; protuberant: a gibbous seashell.
b. 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.
Archaic Having a hump; humpbacked.

Origin of gibbous

Middle English bulging from Late Latin gibbōsus hunch-backed from Latin gibbus hump

Related Forms:

gib′bous·ly
adverb

gib′bous·ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"gibbous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous>.

APA Style

gibbous. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous

More than half but less than fully illuminated. Used to describe the Moon or a planet.

Compare crescent

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MLA Style

"gibbous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous>.

APA Style

gibbous. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous

Adjective

(comparative more gibbous, superlative most gibbous)

Characterized by convexity; protuberant.
(astronomy) Phase of moon or planet between first quarter and full or between full and last quarter.
Humpbacked.

Origin

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”).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

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MLA Style

"gibbous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous>.

APA Style

gibbous. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/gibbous

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