Equinoctial
adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The great circle midway between the celestial poles; the celestial equator.
"The scorching beams under the equinoctial, or extremity of cold within the circle Arctic, […] cannot avoid or expel this heat, fury, and rage of mortal men."
- 2 the great circle on the celestial sphere midway between the celestial poles wordnet
- 3 The terrestrial equator. rare
"Nor is this vveather rare about the Æquinoctiall; by Mariners termed the Tornadoes: and tis ſo vncertaine, that novv you ſhall haue a quiet breath and gale, and ſuddenly an vnexpected violent guſt, and ſtorme, ſo fierce, that many times the ſhips vvill feele no helme."
- 4 An equinoctial gale.
"Heavy with storm the coast-lines grew, / And sharp the equinoctials blew"
- 1 Of or relating to the spring or autumnal equinox. not-comparable
"an equinoctial gale or storm, i.e. one happening at or near the time of the equinox, in any part of the world"
- 2 Of or relating to the celestial equator. not-comparable
- 3 Equatorial: Of or relating to the equator of the Earth. not-comparable, uncommon
- 1 relating to an equinox (when the lengths of night and day are equal) wordnet
- 2 relating to the vicinity of the equator wordnet
Example
More examples"São Luís is known as the capital of Equinoctial France."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English equinoctial, equinoccial, equinoxial, from Old French equinoxial, from Latin (circulus) aequinoctiālis, from aequinoctium + -alis.
Related phrases
More for "equinoctial"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.