Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to meridians or a meridian.
  • adjective Located in the south; southern.
  • adjective Of or characteristic of southern areas or people.
  • noun An inhabitant of a southern region, especially the south of France.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to the meridian; having a direction like that of a terrestrial meridian.
  • Highest; consummate.
  • Southern; southerly; extending or turned toward the south.
  • Characteristic of southern climates or southern peoples.
  • noun One who dwells in the south; specifically, an inhabitant of the south of France.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the meridian.
  • adjective Having a southern aspect; southern; southerly.
  • adjective the distance or departure from the meridian; the easting or westing.
  • adjective parts of the meridian in Mercator's projection, corresponding to each minute of latitude from the equator up to 70 or 80 degrees; tabulated numbers representing these parts used in projecting charts, and in solving cases in Mercator's sailing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An inhabitant of a southern region, especially the south of France.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to a meridian
  • adjective located in the south or characteristic of southern people or places

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, pertaining to the sun's position at noon, from Old French meridionel, southern, from Late Latin merīdiōnālis, from Latin merīdiānus, of midday, southern; see meridian.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French meridional, from Latin merīdiōnālis, from merīdiēs ("noon; south").

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Examples

  • Temperatures in the North Atlantic are influenced by a giant 'conveyor belt' of warm water from the south called the meridional overturning circulation.

    A natural stop to global warming.... GayandRight 2008

  • The currents are driven by a “conveyor belt” mechanism, known as the meridional overturning circulation, that depends on salinity to keep it running: as water from the warm Gulf moves northward, it evaporates moisture to the colder atmosphere, which increases the ocean water salinity and thus its density; the denser water sinks and flows back southward, where the cycle begins anew.

    Where have all the glass eels gone? Nobody knows. 2006

  • The currents are driven by a “conveyor belt” mechanism, known as the meridional overturning circulation, that depends on salinity to keep it running: as water from the warm Gulf moves northward, it evaporates moisture to the colder atmosphere, which increases the ocean water salinity and thus its density; the denser water sinks and flows back southward, where the cycle begins anew.

    Archive 2006-08-01 2006

  • After this, I have gone toward the parts meridional, that is, toward the south, and I have found that in Lybia men see first the star

    The Travels of Sir John Mandeville 2004

  • Jet streams sometimes form huge loops over North America, with segments flowing from north to south or south to north - what scientists call meridional flow.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Thomas Homer-Dixon 2010

  • This flow is instrumental to regulating the strength of a current known as the meridional overturning circulation, a key driver of heat from the tropics to the poles.

    Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News 2010

  • This flow is instrumental to regulating the strength of a current known as the meridional overturning circulation, a key driver of heat from the tropics to the poles.

    Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News 2010

  • The tangential plane (also called the meridional plane) contains the chief ray and the optical axis of the lens (or lens system), while the sagittal plane (also called the radial and / or equitorial plane) contains only the chief ray and is positioned perpendicular to the tangential plane.

    unknown title 2009

  • The tangential plane (also called the meridional plane) contains the chief ray and the optical axis of the lens (or lens system), while the sagittal plane (also called the radial and / or equitorial plane) contains only the chief ray and is positioned perpendicular to the tangential plane.

    unknown title 2009

  • The tangential plane (also called the meridional plane) contains the chief ray and the optical axis of the lens (or lens system), while the sagittal plane (also called the radial and / or equitorial plane) contains only the chief ray and is positioned perpendicular to the tangential plane.

    unknown title 2009

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