English
azimuth
Azimuth comes from Arabic سَمْت ‘the directions’.
- Arabicc. 500–presentسَمْتas-sumūtas اَلسُّمُوت‘the directions’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400*azimutreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1882azimuth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Arabicc. 500–presentسَمْتas-sumūtas اَلسُّمُوت‘the directions’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400*azimutreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1882azimuth
Earliest quotation: 1882, Thomas Hardy, London: Sampson Low: “The dome, being constructed of wood, was light by…”
Linked words
through Arabic سَمْت ‘the directions’
Today it means
noun An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Arabic سَمْت / azimuth