Adjacent Words

autumnal equinox definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: September 22 [syn: autumnal equinox, September equinox, fall equinox] [ant: March equinox, spring equinox, vernal equinox]
2: (astronomy) the equinoctial point that lies in the constellation of Virgo

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Autumnal Au*tum"nal, a. [L. auctumnalis, autumnalis: cf. F. automnal.] 1. Of, belonging to, or peculiar to, autumn; as, an autumnal tint; produced or gathered in autumn; as, autumnal fruits; flowering in autumn; as, an autumnal plant. Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks In Vallombrosa. --Milton. 2. Past the middle of life; in the third stage. An autumnal matron. --Hawthorne. Autumnal equinox, the time when the sun crosses the equator, as it proceeds southward, or when it passes the autumnal point. Autumnal point, the point of the equator intersected by the ecliptic, as the sun proceeds southward; the first point of Libra. Autumnal signs, the signs Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, through which the sun passes between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice.