meridies

Latin

Etymology

From a dissimilation of earlier *medīdiēs, derived from medius (“middle”) + diēs (“day”). The sense of 'south' is due to the southward orientation of the sun at noon in the northern hemisphere.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /meˈriː.di.eːs/, [mɛˈriːd̪ieːs̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /meˈri.di.es/, [meˈriːd̪ies]

Noun

merīdiēs m (genitive merīdiēī); fifth declension

midday, noon
south

Declension

Fifth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	merīdiēs	merīdiēs
Genitive	merīdiēī	merīdiērum
Dative	merīdiēī	merīdiēbus
Accusative	merīdiem	merīdiēs
Ablative	merīdiē	merīdiēbus
Vocative	merīdiēs	merīdiēs

Synonyms

(south wind): auster

Antonyms

(north wind): boreās, septentriō

Derived terms

antemerīdiem
merīdiānus
merīdiō
merīdiōnālis
postmerīdiem

Related terms

diēs

Descendants

Balkan Romance:
- Aromanian: amiridz
- Romanian: meriză
Italo-Romance:
- Old Italian: merigge
  - Italian: meriggio
Borrowings:
- → English: meridiem; ⇒ a.m., p.m.
- → Italian: meridie
- → Portuguese: merídio
- → Spanish: meridiem, merídiem

References

“meridies”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“meridies”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
meridies in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
meridies in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
- to lie to the east, west, south, north: spectare in (vergere ad) orientem (solem), occidentem (solem), ad meridiem, in septentriones