Zenith

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈzɛn.ɪθ/

Definitions

1. The highest point or peak of something, especially in terms of achievement, power, or success
2. The highest or culminating point reached in an aspect of development or progress, especially in terms of one's influence or success
3. The pinnacle or most successful phase of an endeavor or process, denoting utmost achievement or prominence

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "zenith" is that its first letters come from a copying error. The Arabic phrase "samt ar-ra's," meaning "direction of the head," described the point directly overhead in the sky. Medieval Latin writers rendered this as "cenit," and the word passed into Middle English as "cenyth." Scholars think the "-ni-" spelling may have arisen from misreading three strokes of Arabic script, which would have looked like the letters for "n" rather than "m," though it could also simply be an approximation of the sound. Because the phrase was about the head, the word began as a term of astronomy and navigation, marking the highest point of the sky above an observer. Its opposite, the nadir, pointed to the spot beneath one's feet. The meaning of "highest point" in a figurative sense grew naturally out of this vertical image of the sky, so a word once used for a precise position in the heavens came to describe any peak of achievement or power.

Synonyms: peak, summit, apex

Antonyms: nadir, bottom