Adjacent Words

solar day definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis; "two days later they left"; "they put on two performances every day"; "there are 30,000 passengers per day" [syn: day, twenty-four hours, twenty-four hour period, 24-hour interval, solar day, mean solar day]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1751 the interval between transits of the apparent or mean sun across the meridian at any place

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Solar So"lar, a. [L. solaris, fr. sol the sun; akin to As. s[=o]l, Icel. s[=o]l, Goth. sauil, Lith. saule, W. haul,. sul, Skr. svar, perhaps to E. sun:F. solaire. Cf. Parasol. Sun.] 1. Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from the sun; as, the solar system; solar light; solar rays; solar influence. See Solar system, below. 2. (Astrol.) Born under the predominant influence of the sun. [Obs.] And proud beside, as solar people are. --Dryden. 3. Measured by the progress or revolution of the sun in the ecliptic; as, the solar year. 4. Produced by the action of the sun, or peculiarly affected by its influence. They denominate some herbs solar, and some lunar. --Bacon. Solar cycle. See under Cycle. Solar day. See Day, 2. Solar engine, an engine in which the energy of solar heat is used to produce motion, as in evaporating water for a steam engine, or expanding air for an air engine. Solar flowers (Bot.), flowers which open and shut daily at certain hours. Solar lamp, an argand lamp. Solar microscope, a microscope consisting essentially, first, of a mirror for reflecting a beam of sunlight through the tube, which sometimes is fixed in a window shutter; secondly, of a condenser, or large lens, for converging the beam upon the object; and, thirdly, of a small lens, or magnifier, for throwing an enlarged image of the object at its focus upon a screen in a dark room or in a darkened box.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Day Day, n. [OE. day, dai,, dei, AS. d[ae]g; akin to OS., D., Dan., & Sw. dag, G, tag, Icel. dagr, Goth. dags; cf. Skr. dah (for dhagh ?) to burn. [root]69. Cf. Dawn.] 1. The time of light, or interval between one night and the next; the time between sunrise and sunset, or from dawn to darkness; hence, the light; sunshine. 2. The period of the earth's revolution on its axis. -- ordinarily divided into twenty-four hours. It is measured by the interval between two successive transits of a celestial body over the same meridian, and takes a specific name from that of the body. Thus, if this is the sun, the day (the interval between two successive transits of the sun's center over the same meridian) is called a solar day; if it is a star, a sidereal day; if it is the moon, a lunar day. See Civil day, Sidereal day, below. 3. Those hours, or the daily recurring period, allotted by usage or law for work. 4. A specified time or period; time, considered with reference to the existence or prominence of a person or thing; age; time. A man who was great among the Hellenes of his day. --Jowett (Thucyd. ) If my debtors do not keep their day, . . . I must with patience all the terms attend. --Dryden. 5. (Preceded by the) Some day in particular, as some day of contest, some anniversary, etc. The field of Agincourt, Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus. --Shak. His name struck fear, his conduct won the day. --Roscommon. Note: Day is much used in self-explaining compounds; as, daybreak, daylight, workday, etc.