Nadir
Nadir (nā"dẽr) , noun
[French, Sp., & Italian nadir; all from Arabic nazīru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith (as samt), in which nazīr means alike, corresponding to. Compare 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.
Collocations (1)
Nadir of the sun (Astronomy) , the axis of the conical shadow projected by the earth. — Crabb