APSIS • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Apsis

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noun

Apsis n. (pl. apsides) (See Apse)

(Astron.) One of the two points of an orbit, as of a planet or satellite, which are at the greatest and least distance from the central body, corresponding to the aphelion and perihelion of a planet, or to the apogee and perigee of the moon. The more distant is called the higher apsis; the other, the lower apsis; and the line joining them, the line of apsides.

(Math.) In a curve referred to polar coördinates, any point for which the radius vector is a maximum or minimum.

(Arch.) Same as Apse.

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Etymology of 'Apsis'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Apsis" Quotes from Famous Books

... in reestablishing the architectural forms that the wretched style then prevailing had concealed, a succession of large ogive arches of an admirable and powerful proportion which form the inferior part of the Apsis, and support a gallery serving as a basis to the upper story, have come to light. On this story, which is separated from the cul-de-four (spherical vault) by a single moulding, are three large ogive ...

— Historical Sketch of the Cathedral of Strasburg • Anonymous

... trees, especially the palm. We find it symbolically introduced in the decoration of Solomon's Temple—on the walls, furniture, and vessels; whilst in Christian mosaics it figures as the tree of life in Paradise (vide Rev. xxii. 1, 2, and in the apsis of S. Giovanni Laterans). It is even regarded as synonymous with Jesus Christ, as may be seen in the illuminated frontispiece to an Evangelium in the library of the British Museum, where the symbols of the four Evangelists, placed over corresponding columns of ...

— Byways of Ghost-Land • Elliott O'Donnell

Words linked to "Apsis" : niche, apse, recess