Meanings
plural almucantars · alternative almacantar · alternative almicantar · alternative almucanter
- archaichistoricalastronomyA small circle on the celestial sphere, parallel to the horizon, that is used in astronomy and navigation to show altitude of a star or any other heavenly body.
Almucantars, or parallels of altitude, are circles parallel to the horizon, or whose poles are the zenith and nadir. All the points of any one almucantar are at equal altitudes above the horizon.
1816, Olinthus Gregory, “On Projections of the Sphere”, in Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, London: Baldwin, page 119 - archaichistoricalastronomyAn instrument for observing the heavenly bodies as they cross such a circle.
A wide field of work appears open in the application of photography to meridian instruments, or to the almucantar. The sensitive plate should be substituted for the reticule, and the position marked by a graver attached to the tail-piece of the telescope.
1886 March 10, Edward Charles Pickering, “Stellar Photography”, in Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, volume XI, number IV, page 204
Origin
- Medieval Latinalmicantarath
- Frenchalmicantarat
- Middle Englishalmicanteras
- Englishalmucantar
From Middle English almicanteras, French almicantarat, almucantarat, from Medieval Latin almicantarath, almucantarath, from Arabic المقنطرات (almuqanṭarāt, “circles of celestial latitude”), from قَنْطَرَة (qanṭara, “arch”).
More words from Middle English, French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan almucantarat
- almucantaratsmall circle on the celestial sphere
Finnish horisontin kanssa yhdensuuntainen ympyrä, almukantarat
- horisontin kanssa yhdensuuntainen ympyräsmall circle on the celestial sphere
- almukantaratsmall circle on the celestial sphere
German Höhenparallele
- Höhenparallelesmall circle on the celestial sphere
Irish almacantar, líne chomhthreomhar airde
- almacantarsmall circle on the celestial sphere
- líne chomhthreomhar airdesmall circle on the celestial sphere
Italian almucantarat
- almucantaratsmall circle on the celestial sphere
Persian مقنطره, مقنطرات
- مقنطره (moqantare)small circle on the celestial sphere
- مقنطرات (moqantarât)small circle on the celestial sphere
Polish almukantarat, almukantar
- almukantaratsmall circle on the celestial sphere
- almukantarsmall circle on the celestial sphere
Portuguese almucântara
- almucântarasmall circle on the celestial sphere
Slovak almukantarát, azimutálna kružnica
- almukantarátsmall circle on the celestial sphere
- azimutálna kružnicasmall circle on the celestial sphere
Spanish almicantarat
- almicantaratsmall circle on the celestial sphere
Cite this entry
almucantar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almucantar
“almucantar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almucantar. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “almucantar,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/almucantar.
Source: almucantar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.