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semidiameter. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English semidiametre, semydiametre, from Medieval Latin sēmidiameter, equivalent to semi- + diameter.
Noun
semidiameter (plural semidiameters)
- (astronomy) The apparent radius of a star etc, when viewed from Earth.
- (archaic) A radius: half of a diameter.
1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Ayre Rectified. With a Digression of the Ayre.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. , 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 2, member 3, page 254:[B]etweene the ſphere of Saturne and the Firmament, there is ſuch an incredible and vaſt ſpace or diſtance (7000000. ſemidiameters of the earth, as Tycho [Brahe] calculates) void of ſtarres: [...]
Derived terms