Library / English Dictionary

EQUATORIAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A telescope whose mounting has only two axes of motion, one parallel to the Earth's axis and the other one at right angles to it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("equatorial" is a kind of...):

scope; telescope (a magnifier of images of distant objects)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or existing at or near the geographic equator

Example:

equatorial Africa

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

pantropic; pantropical (distributed throughout the tropics)

tropic; tropical (relating to or situated in or characteristic of the tropics (the region on either side of the equator))

Antonym:

polar (of or existing at or near a geographical pole or within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles)

Derivation:

equator (an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or relating to conditions at the geographical equator

Example:

equatorial heat

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

equator (an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Of or relating to or at an equator

Example:

equatorial diameter

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

equator (a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two usually equal and symmetrical parts)

Derivation:

equator (a circle dividing a sphere or other surface into two usually equal and symmetrical parts)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Coral reefs are retreating from equatorial waters and establishing new reefs in more temperate regions.

(Coral reefs shifting away from equatorial waters, National Science Foundation)

Cassini's orbit will remain nearly equatorial for the remainder of 2015, during which the spacecraft will have four close encounters with Titan, two with Dione and three with the geyser-moon, Enceladus.

(Saturn Spacecraft Returns to the Realm of Icy Moons, NASA)

The existence of such strong winds generating massive dust storms implies that the underlying sand can be set in motion, too, and that the giant dunes covering Titan's equatorial regions are still active and continually changing.

(Dust Storms on Titan Spotted for the First Time, NASA)