Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The point nearest the earth's center in the orbit of the moon or a satellite.
- n. The point in any orbit nearest to the body being orbited.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. That point of the moon's orbit which is nearest to the earth: when the moon has arrived at this point, she is said to be in her perigee. Formerly used also for the corresponding point in the orbit of any heavenly body. See
apogee . Also calledepigee , apigeum.
Wiktionary
- n. The point in the orbit of any object which is at the smallest distance from the center of the central body. For example, the point in the moon's orbit which is the smallest distance from the center of the earth.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That point, in the orbit of the moon or other body orbiting the earth, which is nearest to the earth; -- opposed to
apogee . It is sometimes, but rarely, used of the nearest points of bodies not orbiting the earth, such as of a comet, a planet, etc. Called alsoepigee ,epigeum .
WordNet 3.0
- n. periapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is nearest to the Earth
Etymologies
- French périgée, from Medieval Latin perigēum, from Late Greek perigeion : Greek peri-, peri- + Greek gē, earth.
Examples
“It's the closest the Moon has been to Earth in 18 years, a point in the orbit otherwise called a "perigee," from Latin for "violating moon restraining order.”
“At midnight she will be in perigee, that is, at her shortest distance from the earth, and at the same moment she will be crossing the zenith.”
“The "anomalistic month" is the time occupied by the moon in travelling from its perigee, that is its point of nearest approach to the earth, round to its perigee again.”
The Astronomy of the Bible An Elementary Commentary on the Astronomical References of Holy Scripture
“To-day I became strongly impressed with the idea, that the balloon was now actually running up the line of apsides to the point of perigee -- in other words, holding the direct course which would bring it immediately to the moon in that part of its orbit the nearest to the earth.”
“The nearest point on its orbit from the earth is called perigee and the farthest is called apogee.”
“When the moon is closest to Earth, it is called perigee (compare to apogee, which occurs when the moon is at its most distant point away from Earth).”
“Astronomers call the point of closest approach "perigee," and that is where the Moon will be this weekend.”
“Well! whenever the moon is in a favorable condition as to the zenith, if not to the perigee, that is to say about once a year, could you not send us a shell packed with provisions, which we might expect on some appointed day?””
“When the moon is at its closest, it's at its "perigee," and when it's at its farthest, it's at its”
“Initial orbital parameters are period 101 min, apogee 821 km, perigee 783 km, and inclination 74 deg”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘perigee’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plain hilarious
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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Astronomical Words
Words used in Astronomy
perihelion, perigee, apoapsis, periastron, apastron, apsis, zenith, aphelion, perturbations, barycenter, equinox, nadir and 21 more...
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peri-
round or about; nearest
seanmeade simply nice, especially when combined with apogee Apr 19, 2007