nadir

See also: Nadir, nádir, and nadír

English

WOTD – 23 September 2006

Etymology

From Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt), composed of نَظِير (naẓīr, “counterpart, corresponding to”) and السَّمْت (as-samt, “the zenith”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈneɪˌdɪə(ɹ)/, /ˈnæd.ɪə(ɹ)/, /ˈneɪ.də(ɹ)/, /neɪˈdɪə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈneɪˌdɪɚ/, /ˈneɪ.dɚ/, /neɪˈdɪɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪdə(ɹ), -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

nadir (plural nadirs)

1. The point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith; inferior pole of the horizon; point of the celestial sphere directly under the place of observation.

   Synonym: antizenith

   Antonym: zenith

   • 1638, Sir Thomas Herbert, Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique:

     […] when we are Nadyr to the Sunne, we have no ſhadow […]

2. (figuratively) The lowest point; time of greatest depression.

   Synonyms: lowest ebb, slough of despond, trough, bathos

   Antonyms: height, peak

   Near-synonym: dead

   • 1837, Henry Hallam, Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries:

     […] the seventh century is the nadir of the human mind in Europe […]

   • 1950, Elizabeth Janeway, edited by Helen Hull, The Writer’s Book:

     In this nadir of poetic repute, when the only verse that most people read from one year’s end to the next is what appears on greetings cards, it is well for us to stop and consider our poets.

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 175:

     The myth describes the dangerous moment of the nadir, the dead of winter, the moment when it is not known whether the world will be re-created and another cycle will bring on another spring.

   • 2025 November 15, Cameron Pugh, “To a T: How Phillip Eng got Boston’s subway system back on track”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     Trust had reached a nadir.

3. (astronomy) The axis of a projected conical shadow; the direction of the force of gravity at a location; down.

   Synonym: down

   The nadir of the sun is the axis of the shadow projected by the Earth.

4. (beekeeping, archaic) An empty box added beneath a full one in a beehive to give the colony more room to expand or store honey.

   Antonyms: duplet, super

Derived terms

• nadiral

Related terms

• azimuth, zenith - (both from السَّمْتُ (as-samtu)).

Translations

point of the sky

Arabic: نَظِير (ar) m (naẓīr) Armenian: նադիր (hy) (nadir) Bulgarian: надир (bg) m (nadir) Catalan: nadir m Chinese: Mandarin: 天底 (zh) (tiāndǐ) Danish: nadir (da) n Dutch: nadir (nl) n Finnish: nadiiri (fi) French: nadir (fr) m Galician: nadir (gl) m German: Nadir (de) m Greek: ναδίρ (el) n (nadír) Hindi: नाजिर (hi) (nājir) Hungarian: nadír (hu), talppont (hu) Irish: nadair f Italian: nadir (it) m Japanese: 天底 (ja) (てんてい, tentei) Malay: nadir Persian: نظیرالسمت (fa) (nazir-os-samt), سمت‌القدم (samt-ol-qadam), پاسو (pâsu) Polish: nadir (pl) m Portuguese: nadir (pt) m Romanian: nadir (ro) n Russian: нади́р (ru) m (nadír) Spanish: nadir (es) m Tagalog: idalum

figuratively the lowest point

Arabic: نَظِير (ar) m (naẓīr) Bulgarian: най-ниска точка (naj-niska točka) Chinese: Mandarin: 低谷 (zh) (dīgǔ) Finnish: aallonpohja (fi) French: fond (fr) m Greek: ναδίρ (el) n (nadír) Hindi: नाजिर (hi) (nājir) Hungarian: mélypont (hu) Icelandic: ilpunktur (is) m Japanese: どん底 (ja) (どんぞこ, donzoko) Persian: قعر (fa) (qa'r) Portuguese: nadir (pt) m Russian: ни́зший у́ровень m (nízšij úrovenʹ) Swedish: lågvattenmärke (sv) (slightly informal) Turkish: ayak ucu (tr)

axis of projected conical shadow

Arabic: نَظِير (ar) m (naẓīr) Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Hindi: नाजिर (hi) (nājir)

Verb

nadir (third-person singular simple present nadirs, present participle nadiring, simple past and past participle nadired)

1. (transitive, beekeeping) To extend (a beehive) by adding an empty box at the base.

References

• Henry Taylor (1860), The Beekeepers Manual, page 24

Further reading

• Nadir (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Darin, Drain, Drina, Indra, Nardi, Ndari, Radin, dinar, drain, ranid

Azerbaijani

Other scripts

Cyrillic		надир
Arabic

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic نَادِر (nādir).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nɑːˈdiɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: na‧dir

Adjective

nadir (comparative daha nadir, superlative ən nadir)

1. rare

   nadir tapıntı ― a rare discovery

   nadir hallarda ― in rare cases, rarely

Further reading

• Orucov, Əliheydər, editor (2006), “nadir”, in Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti [Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language]‎ (in Azerbaijani), 2nd edition, volume 3, Baku: Şərq-Qərb, page 446

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^fr

Etymology

As for the English word.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.diʁ/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

nadir m (plural nadirs)

1. (astronomy) nadir

   Antonym: zénith

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• radin

Galician

Galician Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^gl

Noun

nadir m (plural nadires)

1. nadir (point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where the observer stands)

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈnadir/ [ˈna.dɪr]
• Rhymes: -adir
• Syllabification: na‧dir

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay nadir, from Persian نادر (nâder, “rare”), from Arabic نَادِر (nādir).

Alternative forms

• nadirat

Adjective

nadir (comparative lebih nadir, superlative paling nadir)

1. (archaic) rare

   Synonym: jarang

2. (archaic) extraordinary

   Synonym: luar biasa

Derived terms

• kenadiran

Etymology 2

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^id

Borrowed from Dutch nadir, from French nadir, from Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt), composed of نَظِير (naẓīr, “counterpart, corresponding to”) and السَّمْت (as-samt, “the zenith”).

Noun

nadir (plural nadir-nadir)

1. (astronomy) nadir; down

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

nadir (plural nadir-nadir)

1. (dialectal) a Malacca type of large sea-going fishing boat

Etymology 4

From Classical Persian نَظِیر (nazīr), from Arabic نَظِير (naẓīr). Doublet of nazir.

Alternative forms

• nazir

Noun

nadir (plural nadir-nadir)

1. (archaic) inspector, supervisor

   Synonyms: inspektur, pengawas, penyelia

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^it

Etymology

From Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt), composed of نَظِير (naẓīr, “counterpart, corresponding to”) and السَّمْت (as-samt, “the zenith”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈdir/
• Rhymes: -ir
• Hyphenation: na‧dìr

Noun

nadir m

1. (astronomy) nadir

   Antonym: zenit

Anagrams

• Randi, nardi

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير (naẓīr).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈna.dir/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -adir
• Syllabification: na‧dir

Noun

nadir m inan

1. (astronomy) nadir (axis of projected conical shadow)

   Synonym: perygeum

   Antonym: zenit

Declension

Declension of nadir

	singular
nominative	nadir
genitive	nadiru
dative	nadirowi
accusative	nadir
instrumental	nadirem
locative	nadirze
vocative	nadirze

Further reading

• nadir in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• nadir in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^pt

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /naˈd͡ʒi(ʁ)/ [naˈd͡ʒi(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /naˈd͡ʒi(ʁ)/ [naˈd͡ʒi(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /naˈd͡ʒi(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /naˈd͡ʒi(ʁ)/ [naˈd͡ʒi(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /naˈd͡ʒi(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /naˈdiɾ/ [naˈðiɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /naˈdiɾ/ [naˈðiɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /naˈdi.ɾi/ [naˈði.ɾi]

• Hyphenation: na‧dir

Noun

nadir m (plural nadires)

1. nadir (point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where the observer stands)
2. (figuratively) nadir (the lowest point)

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

Romanian

Romanian Wikipedia has an article on:

nadir

Wikipedia ^ro

Alternative forms

• надир (nadir) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from French nadir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈdir/
• Rhymes: -ir
• Hyphenation: na‧dir

Noun

nadir n (uncountable)

1. nadir

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	nadir	nadirul
genitive-dative	nadir	nadirului
vocative	nadirule

Further reading

• “nadir”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naˈdiɾ/ [naˈð̞iɾ]
• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Syllabification: na‧dir

Noun

nadir m (plural nadires)

1. nadir (point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where the observer stands)

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish nadir, from Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic نَظِير السَّمْت (naẓīr as-samt).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /naˈdiɾ/ [n̪ɐˈd̪ɪɾ]
• Rhymes: -iɾ
• Syllabification: na‧dir

Noun

nadír (Baybayin spelling ᜈᜇᜒᜇ᜔)

1. nadir (point of the celestial sphere, directly opposite the zenith)

Further reading

• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 413

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish نادر (nadir), from Arabic نَادِر (nādir).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naːˈdiɾ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: na‧dir

Adjective

nadir

1. rare

   Synonym: ender

   Antonym: yaygın

Related terms

• nadiren

Further reading

• “nadir”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Ayverdi, İlhan (2010), “nadir”, in Misalli Büyük Türkçe Sözlük, a reviewed and expanded single-volume edition, Istanbul: Kubbealtı Neşriyatı
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “nadir”, in Nişanyan Sözlük