ecliptic
/ɪˈklɪp.tɪk/
ecliptic noun: the great circle on the celestial sphere that is the mean apparent path of the sun as viewed from the earth.
Noun
ecliptic (plural ecliptics)
- The great circle on the celestial sphere that is the mean apparent path of the sun as viewed from the earth.
- The plane in which this great circle lies.
- Synonyms:
- ecliptic plane, plane of the ecliptic
- A great circle drawn on a terrestrial globe, used for illustrating and solving astronomical problems.
Adjective
ecliptic (not comparable)
- Relating to an eclipse or the ecliptic.
- Synonyms:
- ecliptical
ecliptic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam
ecliptic in Hindi
- Earth's orbital plane
- क्रांतिवृत्त krāntivŕtt, सूर्यपथ sūryapath
ecliptic in Tamil
- கிரகணத்திற்குரியகோடு, ஞாயிற்றின் தோற்றப்பாதை, சூரிய வழி, சூரிய வீதி
ecliptic in Marathi
- Earth's orbital plane
- क्रांतिवृत्त krāntivŕtta
ecliptic in Malayalam
- Earth's orbital plane
- ക്രാന്തിവൃത്തം krāntivr̥ttaṁ, ക്രാന്തിപഥം krāntipathaṁ
More languagesFewer languages
- ecliptic in Punjabi
- ਸੂਰਜੀ ਪੰਧ sūrjī pandh
- ecliptic in Sanskrit
- क्रान्ति krānti
- ecliptic in Tagalog
- guhitlaw
- ecliptic in Arabic
- مَسَارُ الشَّمْسِ masāru š-šamsi
- ecliptic in Malay
- ekliptik
- ecliptic in Indonesian
- ekliptika
- ecliptic in Persian
- دایرةالبروج dâyertâlboruj
- ecliptic in Thai
- สุริยวิถี sù-rí-yɔɔ-wí-tíi, รวิมรรค
- ecliptic in Vietnamese
- hoàng đạo
Synonyms of ecliptic
- ecliptic plane
- plane of the ecliptic
- ecliptical
Forms of ecliptic
| plural | ecliptics |
|---|---|
| alternative form | ecliptick |
Origin of ecliptic
Borrowed from Latin eclīptica. So named because an eclipse can occur only when the Moon lies on this plane.
From Middle English ecliptik, from Latin eclīpticus, from Ancient Greek ἐκλειπτικός (ekleiptikós).
Words formed from ecliptic
Phrases with ecliptic
Words that rhyme with ecliptic
Questions about ecliptic
- What does ecliptic mean?
- Ecliptic means the great circle on the celestial sphere that is the mean apparent path of the sun as viewed from the earth.
- What is ecliptic in Hindi?
- Ecliptic in Hindi is क्रांतिवृत्त (krāntivŕtt), सूर्यपथ (sūryapath). See Ecliptic meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is ecliptic?
- Ecliptic can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce ecliptic?
- Ecliptic is pronounced /ɪˈklɪp.tɪk/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ecliptic?
- The plural of ecliptic is ecliptics.
Words near ecliptic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ecliptic (page history and authors); ecliptic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); क्रान्ति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ecliptic.wav.
Cite this entry: “ecliptic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ecliptic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.