'Declination' definitions:

Definition of 'declination'

From: WordNet
noun
A condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state [syn: decline, declination] [ant: improvement, melioration]
noun
A downward slope or bend [syn: descent, declivity, fall, decline, declination, declension, downslope] [ant: acclivity, ascent, climb, raise, rise, upgrade]
noun
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial body north or to the south of the celestial equator; expressed in degrees; used with right ascension to specify positions on the celestial sphere [syn: declination, celestial latitude, dec]
noun
A polite refusal of an invitation [syn: declination, regrets]

Definition of 'Declination'

From: GCIDE
  • Declination \Dec`li*na"tion\, n. [L. declinatio a bending aside, an avoiding: cf. F. d['e]clination a decadence. See Declension.]
  • 1. The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as, declination of the head. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy." --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. --Waller. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion; obliquity; withdrawal. [1913 Webster]
  • The declination of atoms in their descent. --Bentley. [1913 Webster]
  • Every declination and violation of the rules. --South. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal; refusal; averseness. [1913 Webster]
  • The queen's declination from marriage. --Stow. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Astron.) The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Dialing) The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. (Gram.) The act of inflecting a word; declension. See Decline, v. t., 4. [1913 Webster]
  • Angle of declination, the angle made by a descending line, or plane, with a horizontal plane.
  • Circle of declination, a circle parallel to the celestial equator.
  • Declination compass (Physics), a compass arranged for finding the declination of the magnetic needle.
  • Declination of the compass or Declination of the needle, the horizontal angle which the magnetic needle makes with the true north-and-south line. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'declination'

From: GCIDE
  • Refraction \Re*frac"tion\ (r?*fr?k"sh?n), n. [F. r['e]fraction.]
  • 1. The act of refracting, or the state of being refracted. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The change in the direction of ray of light, heat, or the like, when it enters obliquely a medium of a different density from that through which it has previously moved. [1913 Webster]
  • Refraction out of the rarer medium into the denser, is made towards the perpendicular. --Sir I. Newton. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Astron.) (a) The change in the direction of a ray of light, and, consequently, in the apparent position of a heavenly body from which it emanates, arising from its passage through the earth's atmosphere; -- hence distinguished as atmospheric refraction, or astronomical refraction. (b) The correction which is to be deducted from the apparent altitude of a heavenly body on account of atmospheric refraction, in order to obtain the true altitude. [1913 Webster]
  • Angle of refraction (Opt.), the angle which a refracted ray makes with the perpendicular to the surface separating the two media traversed by the ray.
  • Conical refraction (Opt.), the refraction of a ray of light into an infinite number of rays, forming a hollow cone. This occurs when a ray of light is passed through crystals of some substances, under certain circumstances. Conical refraction is of two kinds; external conical refraction, in which the ray issues from the crystal in the form of a cone, the vertex of which is at the point of emergence; and internal conical refraction, in which the ray is changed into the form of a cone on entering the crystal, from which it issues in the form of a hollow cylinder. This singular phenomenon was first discovered by Sir W. R. Hamilton by mathematical reasoning alone, unaided by experiment.
  • Differential refraction (Astron.), the change of the apparent place of one object relative to a second object near it, due to refraction; also, the correction required to be made to the observed relative places of the two bodies.
  • Double refraction (Opt.), the refraction of light in two directions, which produces two distinct images. The power of double refraction is possessed by all crystals except those of the isometric system. A uniaxial crystal is said to be optically positive (like quartz), or optically negative (like calcite), or to have positive, or negative, double refraction, according as the optic axis is the axis of least or greatest elasticity for light; a biaxial crystal is similarly designated when the same relation holds for the acute bisectrix.
  • Index of refraction. See under Index.
  • Refraction circle (Opt.), an instrument provided with a graduated circle for the measurement of refraction.
  • Refraction of latitude, longitude, declination, {right ascension}, etc., the change in the apparent latitude, longitude, etc., of a heavenly body, due to the effect of atmospheric refraction.
  • Terrestrial refraction, the change in the apparent altitude of a distant point on or near the earth's surface, as the top of a mountain, arising from the passage of light from it to the eye through atmospheric strata of varying density. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'declination'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Declination'