Zenith
/ˈziː.nɪθ/noun
The point in the sky directly above an observer; the highest point or peak.
Did you know?Zenith entered English through medieval astronomy, from Arabic samt al-ra’s meaning “direction of the head,” a technical sky-term that was distorted by Latin scribes into the form we use today.
Etymological Timeline
Arabic medieval astronomy
Arabic
samt al-ra's
“the direction of the head; the point overhead”
12th Century
Latin
senit / cenit
“a scribal miscopy of the Arabic astronomical term in European texts”
14th Century
Old French
cenith
“the zenith point in astronomy”
14th Century
Middle English
zenith
“the point in the sky directly overhead”
Modern English
English
zenith
“the highest point or peak”