ecliptic
ecliptic Lexical Profile
ecliptic Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A great circle on the celestial sphere representing the sun's apparent path during the year, so called because lunar and solar eclipses can occur only when the moon crosses it.
"Ancient astronomers tracked the movement of the constellations along the ecliptic to mark the changing seasons."
• adjective
Relating to the ecliptic (the apparent annual path of the sun) or to a solar or lunar eclipse.
"The major planets of our solar system orbit within a few degrees of the ecliptic plane."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'ecliptic' (the apparent path of the sun across the sky) with 'elliptic' (having the shape of an oval or ellipse) or 'eclectic' (deriving ideas from a wide range of sources).
• Rhymes for ecliptic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via Late Latin eclipticus from Ancient Greek ekleiptikos ('of an eclipse'), from ekleipsis ('eclipse, abandonment'). The sun's apparent path was so named because solar and lunar eclipses occur only when the moon crosses or is near this plane.