apex

See also: Apex, APEX, ápex, and àpex

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin apex (“point, tip, summit”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.pɛks/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -eɪpɛks

Noun

apex (plural apices or apexes)

The highest or the greatest part of something, especially forming a point.
the apex of the building
Synonyms: peak, top, summit, vertex
1. (geometry) The highest point in a plane or solid figure, relative to a base line or plane.
2. (chiefly anatomy) The pointed fine end of something.
  1. The lowest part of the human heart.
  2. The deepest part of a tooth's root.
  3. Synonyms: end, tip
3. (botany) The end of a leaf, petal or similar organ opposed to the end where it is attached to its support.
  Synonym: tip
4. (botany) The growing point of a shoot.
5. (astronomy) The point on the celestial sphere toward which the Sun appears to move relative to nearby stars.
  Hyponym: solar apex
6. (physics) The lowest point on a pendant drop of a liquid.
7. (mining, US) The end or edge of a vein nearest the surface.
8. (typography):
  1. A diacritic in Classical Latin that resembles and gave rise to the acute.
  2. A diacritic in Middle Vietnamese that indicates /ŋ͡m/.
  3. A sharp upward point formed by two strokes that meet at an acute angle, as in "W", uppercase "A", and closed-top "4", or by a tapered stroke, as in lowercase "t".
    Coordinate term: vertex
(figuratively) The moment of greatest success, expansion, etc.
the apex of civilization
- 2002, Jeffrey Rowland, “Day 2 (The Slagathors)”, in Wigu Adventures‎, page 58:
  It would be an intense disgust. The absolute apex of teen angst.
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, PC, scene: Virmire:
  The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished.
Synonyms: acme, culmination, height, peak, pinnacle
(attributive, ecology) The top of the food chain.
A conical priest cap.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:apex

Derived terms

antapex
apex court
apexed
apex fallacy
apex predator
base over apex
orbital apex syndrome
subapex

Related terms

apical

Translations

highest or greatest part

Arabic: ذروَة‎
Armenian: գագաթ (hy) (gagatʿ)
Bulgarian: връх (bg) (vrǎh), връхна точка (vrǎhna točka)
Catalan: àpex (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 頂／顶 (zh) (dǐng), 尖 (zh) (jiān), 頂點／顶点 (zh) (dǐngdiǎn), 頂端／顶端 (zh) (dǐngduān), 尖端 (zh) (jiānduān)
Dutch: top (nl) m, spits (nl) c
Finnish: huippu (fi)
French: apex (fr) m, sommet (fr) m
Galician: ápice f
German: Gipfel (de) m
Greek: κορυφή (el) f (koryfí)
Ancient: ἄκρον n (ákron)
Italian: apice (it)
Maori: akitu
Norwegian: topp (no)
Portuguese: topo (pt), cume (pt)
Romanian: culme (ro)
Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína), пик (ru) m (pik), вы́сшая то́чка f (výsšaja tóčka)
Slovak: vrchol
Spanish: ápice (es) m, cima (es) f
Swedish: topp (sv) c, spets (sv) c
Telugu: అత్యున్నత (atyunnata), సర్వోన్నత (sarvōnnata)
Turkish: zirve (tr)

highest point in a plane or solid figure

Armenian: գագաթ (hy) (gagatʿ)
Bulgarian: връх (bg) (vrǎh)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 頂點／顶点 (zh) (dǐngdiǎn)
Dutch: top (nl) m, spits (nl) c, punt (nl) m
Finnish: huippu (fi)
French: apex (fr) m
German: Spitze (de) m
Greek: κορυφή (el) f (koryfí)
Portuguese: topo (pt)
Slovak: vrchol
Spanish: ápice (es) m, cúspide (es) f
Telugu: శీర్షము (te) (śīrṣamu)

the point on the celestial sphere toward which the Sun appears to move relative to nearby stars

Polish: apeks m

pointed fine end

Dutch: spits (nl) c, punt (nl) m
Finnish: huippu (fi)
French: apex (fr) m
Greek: κορυφή (el) f (koryfí)
Portuguese: ponta (pt) f
Slovak: hrot (sk)
Spanish: ápice (es) m
Telugu: కొన (te) (kona)

end of leaf

Catalan: àpex (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 葉尖／叶尖 (zh) (yèjiān)
Dutch: spits (nl) c, punt (nl) m
Italian: apice (it) m
Polish: szczyt (pl) m
Portuguese: ápice (pt) m
Spanish: ápice (es)

moment of greatest success, expansion, etc

Chinese:
Mandarin: 巔峰／巅峰 (zh) (diānfēng), 極致／极致 (zh) (jízhì), 極點／极点 (zh) (jídiǎn), 絕頂／绝顶 (zh) (juédǐng)
Dutch: top (nl) m
Finnish: huippu (fi), huipentuma (fi)
French: apogée (fr) f
German: Gipfel (de) m
Greek: κορυφή (el) f (koryfí), απόγειο (el) n (apógeio), αποκορύφωμα (el) n (apokorýfoma)
Italian: apice (it) m
Portuguese: ápice (pt) m
Russian: верши́на (ru) f (veršína), пик (ru) m (pik)
Slovak: vrchol
Spanish: apogeo (es) m
Telugu: సర్వోత్కృష్ట (sarvōtkr̥ṣṭa), ఉచ్ఛ (uccha)

References

“apex”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
“apex”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
apex in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
apex at OneLook Dictionary Search

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“to join, fit”). Cognate with Latin apō (“to fasten, join, tie to”).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.peks/, [ˈäpɛks̠]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.peks/, [ˈäːpeks]

Noun

apex m (genitive apicis); third declension

The extreme end of a thing; the point, summit, top.
Synonyms: cacūmen, summa, fastīgium, culmen, vertex, summitās
Antonym: fundus
(literally) The small rod (generally of olive wood) at the top of the flamen's cap, wound around with a woolen cord or "thread".
(transferred sense):
1. The conical leathern cap of an ancient Roman priest (the Flamen), ornamented with this rod.
2. Any hat or helmet; a crown.
3. (literally) A projecting point or summit.
  1. (figurative) The highest ornament or honor; the crown of a thing.
4. (grammar) The macron (long mark over a vowel).
  1. The forms or outlines of the letters.
5. A letter or any other writing.
6. (Ecclesiastical Latin, figurative) (of the point or apex of a Hebrew letter) The least particle, tittle.

Inflection

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	apex	apicēs
Genitive	apicis	apicum
Dative	apicī	apicibus
Accusative	apicem	apicēs
Ablative	apice	apicibus
Vocative	apex	apicēs

Descendants

Descendants of apex in other languages

→ Catalan: àpex
→ English: apex
→ French: apex
→ Galician: ápice
→ German: Apex
→ Italian: apice
→ Portuguese: ápice, ápex
→ Romanian: apex
→ Spanish: ápice, ápex

References

“apex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“apex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
apex 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)
apex in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
“apex”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
“apex”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin apex.

Noun

apex n (plural apexuri)

apex

Declension

Declension of apex

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) apex	apexul	(niște) apexuri	apexurile
genitive/dative	(unui) apex	apexului	(unor) apexuri	apexurilor
vocative	apexule		apexurilor