Meanings
plural nonagenaries
- obsoleteastrologySynonym of square or quadrature, a rising at a 90 degree angle to the position of another heavenly body, particularly the sun.
As for Mars, as he is neerer to the Sunne, so feeleth he the Sunne beames by a quadrant aspect, to wit, ninetie degrees: wherupon that motion tooke the name, called the first and second Nonagenarie, from both risings.
1601, Pliny, translated by Philemon Holland, The Historie of the World, volume I, page 10Synonyms: square or quadrature
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of square or quadrature, a rising at a 90 degree angle to the position of another heavenly body, particularly the sun.
Origin
- Latinnōnāgēnī“90 each”
- Middle Frenchnonagénaire
- Latinnōnāgēnārius“containing 90”
- Englishnonagenary
From Latin nōnāgēnārius (“containing 90”) either directly or via Middle French nonagénaire, from Latin nōnāgēnī (“90 each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from nōnāgintā (“nine tens, 90”).
More words from Latin, Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
nonagenary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonagenary
“nonagenary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonagenary. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonagenary,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonagenary.
Source: nonagenary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.