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semimajor axis

[sem-ee-mey-jer, sem-ahy-, sem-ee-, sem-ahy-]

noun

  1. Geometry.one half the major axis of an ellipse.

  2. Astronomy.one half the major axis of the ellipse that one celestial body describes around another, as a planet around the sun or a satellite around a planet, equivalent to the mean distance between the two bodies.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of semimajor axis1

First recorded in 1925–30; semi- + major

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semilunar valvesemimatte

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