Etymology

ecliptic

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Today it means: The great circle on the celestial sphere that is the mean apparent path of the sun as viewed from the earth. Full definition →

Latin eclīptica
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ecliptic · noun1

  1. Latin · borrowed fromeclīptica
  2. English todayecliptic

Borrowed from Latin eclīptica. So named because an eclipse can occur only when the Moon lies on this plane.

ecliptic · adjective2

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromἐκλειπτικός
  2. Latin · derived fromeclīpticus
  3. Middle English · inherited fromecliptik
  4. English todayecliptic

From Middle English ecliptik, from Latin eclīpticus, from Ancient Greek ἐκλειπτικός (ekleiptikós).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.