azimuth

English

Etymology

From Old French *azimut (modern French azimut), from Arabic اَلسُّمُوت pl (as-sumūt, “the directions”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈæzɪməθ/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: azi‧muth

Noun

azimuth (plural azimuths)

1. An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object.

   the azimuth of a star

   the azimuth or bearing of a line surveying

2. The quadrant of an azimuth circle.
   • 1882, Thomas Hardy, chapter II, in Two on a Tower. A Romance. [...] In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, […], →OCLC, pages 21–22:

     The dome, being constructed of wood, was light by comparison with the rest of the structure, and the wheels which allowed it horizontal, or, as Swithin expressed it, azimuth motion, denied it a firm hold upon the walls; so that it had been lifted off them like a cover from a pot.

Derived terms

• altazimuth
• azimuthal
• azimuthally
• azimuth thruster
• azran
• backazimuth, back azimuth

Related terms

• nadir
• zenith

Translations

arc of the horizon

Arabic: سَمْت m (samt) Bulgarian: а́зимут (bg) m (ázimut) Catalan: azimut (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 方位角 (zh) (fāngwèijiǎo) Czech: azimut m Dutch: azimut (nl) n Estonian: asimuut Finnish: atsimuutti (fi) French: azimut (fr) m German: Azimut (de) m or n Greek: αζιμούθιο (el) n (azimoúthio) Hindi: सिम्त (hi) m (simt), सू (hi) f (sū) Irish: asamat m Italian: azimut (it) Japanese: 方位角 (ja) (ほういかく, hōikaku) Korean: 방위각(方位角) (ko) (bang'wigak) Malay: ازيموت (ms) (azimut) Persian: سمت (fa) (samt), سو (fa) (su) Polish: azymut (pl) m Portuguese: azimute (pt) m Romanian: azimut (ro) n Russian: а́зимут (ru) m (ázimut) Spanish: azimut (es) m, acimut (es) m Swedish: azimut (sv) c Vietnamese: góc phương vị (角方位)

quadrant of an azimuth circle

Finnish: atsimuutti (fi) French: azimut (fr) m Polish: azymut (pl) m Russian: а́зимут (ru) m (ázimut)

Further reading

• azimuth on Wikipedia.Wikipedia