What is "nadir"

Nadir \Na"dir\ (n[=a]"d[~e]r), n. [F., Sp., & It. nadir; all fr. Ar. naz[=i]ru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith (as samt), in which naz[=i]r means alike, corresponding to. Cf. Azimuth, Zenith.]

1. That point of the heavens, or lower hemisphere, directly opposite the zenith; the inferior pole of the horizon; the point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where we stand.

2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression.

   The seventh century is the nadir of the human mind in Europe.
   --Hallam.

   Nadir of the sun (Astron.), the axis of the conical shadow projected by the earth.
   --Crabb.

late 14c., in astronomical sense, from Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic nazir "opposite to," in nazir as-samt, literally "opposite direction," from nazir "opposite" + as-samt "road, path" (see zenith). Transferred sense of "lowest point (of anything)" is first recorded 1793.

n. A male given name.

1. n. an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything [syn: low-water mark]

2. the point below the observer that is directly opposite the zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected [ant: zenith]

The nadir is a low or downward point of reference.

Nadir may also refer to: __NOTOC__

• Nadir (name)
• Nadir (topography)
• Nadirs (autobiography), by Herta Müller
• Nadir, settlement in the U.S. Virgin Islands
• The Nadir, a fictional tribe in the novel Legend and other works by David Gemmell
• "Nadir", a song by Sadist on the album Above the Light
• "Nadir", a song by Byzantine on the album Oblivion Beckons
• Network Anomaly Detection and Intrusion Reporter, an intrusion detection system

The nadir (from / ALA-LC: naẓīr, meaning "counterpart") is the direction pointing directly below a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface there. Since the concept of being below is itself somewhat vague, scientists define the nadir in more rigorous terms. Specifically, in astronomy, geophysics and related sciences (e.g., meteorology), the nadir at a given point is the local vertical direction pointing in the direction of the force of gravity at that location. The direction opposite of the nadir is the zenith.

Nadir also refers to the downward-facing viewing geometry of an orbiting satellite, such as is employed during remote sensing of the atmosphere, as well as when an astronaut faces the Earth while performing a spacewalk.

The word is also used figuratively to mean the lowest point of a person's spirits, or the quality of an activity or profession.

The term nadir can also be used to represent the lowest point reached by a celestial body during its apparent orbit around a given point of observation. This can be used to describe the location of the Sun, but it is only technically accurate for one latitude at a time and only possible at the low latitudes. The sun is said to be at the nadir at a location when it is at the zenith at the location's antipode.

In oncology, the term nadir is used to represent the lowest level of a blood cell count while a patient is undergoing chemotherapy. A diagnosis of neutropenic nadir after chemotherapy typically lasts 7–10 days.

Nadir is the ninth album from Arthur Loves Plastic and was released in 2003.

In topography, a nadir is a point on a surface that is lower in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a nadir is a local minimum of elevation. A nadir may be the lowest point of a dry basin or depression, or the deepest point of a body of water or ice. The nadir of a body of water is often called a "deep", as in the Challenger Deep, the nadir of the Earth's oceans.

Nadir (foaled March 15, 1955) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of two colts voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1957. He was bred and raced by Bull Hancock's Claiborne Farm.

Nadir is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Nadir.org is a German web portal, based in Hamburg. It sees itself as "an information system to leftist politics and social movements in the internet". It is one of the oldest German organisations of left groups and for initiatives-based websites. Since 2006, new entries were largely adjusted and a manifesto against retention was published in October 2008. Gradually, it was replaced by the open information platform indymedia. Topics included were anti-fascism, anti-racism and work against sexism.

In particular, the magazines Radikale Zeiten, the "Rote Hilfe Zeitung", Gegendruck, Zeck and Interim were collected electronically.

The term " nadir" means "a point to which a central perspective in an infinitely long distance converges", in the Arabic language "a vanishing point at infinity".