EQUINOX

Pronunciation (US):

• EQUINOX (noun)
  The noun EQUINOX has 2 senses:

1. either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length
2. (astronomy) either of the two celestial points at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic

  Familiarity information: EQUINOX used as a noun is rare.

• EQUINOX (noun)

Meaning:

Either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("equinox" is a kind of...):

cosmic time (the time covered by the physical formation and development of the universe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "equinox"):

March equinox; spring equinox; vernal equinox (March 21)

autumnal equinox; fall equinox; September equinox (September 22)

Meaning:

(astronomy) either of the two celestial points at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

equinoctial point; equinox

Hypernyms ("equinox" is a kind of...):

celestial point (a point in the heavens (on the celestial sphere))

Domain category:

astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "equinox"):

vernal equinox ((astronomy) the equinoctial point that lies in the constellation of Pisces)

autumnal equinox ((astronomy) the equinoctial point that lies in the constellation of Virgo)