Definition of NADIR

Nadir Has Arabic Roots

Nadir is part of the galaxy of scientific words that have come to us from Arabic, a language that has made important contributions in the vocabulary of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. Nadir derives from an Arabic word meaning "opposite"—the opposite, that is, of the zenith, or the highest point of the celestial sphere, the one vertically above the observer. (The word zenith itself is a modification of another Arabic word that means "the way over one's head.") The English poet John Donne is first on record as having used nadir in the figurative sense of "lowest point" in a sermon he wrote in 1627.

Examples of nadir in a Sentence

Nantucket reached its nadir in the post-Civil War period. The whaling industry had become moribund, many New Englanders had been lured to California by the discovery of gold, and the island population dropped from ten thousand in 1830 to scarcely more than three thousand in 1880. — David H. Wood, Antiques, August 1995 But then, at the very nadir of that dark abandoned moment, that moment of despair and sickness unto death, … — T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993 My nadir was the time I presented an oral book report on "Les Misérables," having read only the Classic Comics version … — Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 12 Oct. 1986 The relationship between the two countries reached a nadir in the 1920s. the discussion really reached its nadir when people resorted to name-calling

Recent Examples on the Web

During the system’s nadir in the 1980s, Richard Ravitch, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s chairman, met regularly with then-mayor Edward I. Koch. — New York Times, "Nearly 6 Months on the Job, the Subway Chief Finally Meets the Mayor," 10 July 2018 This assumption approached a comical nadir a few months earlier when Gidley walked to the back of Air Force One to take questions from reporters who were traveling with Trump to and from an event in Utah. — Mark Leibovich, New York Times, "The Risky Business of Speaking for President Trump," 23 May 2018 Turkey also gives vocal support to the Palestinians, while relations are at a nadir with Israel. — Washington Post, "Mideast conflicts connected by vying powerbrokers," 17 May 2018 Refinery29 spoke with the cast at BAM CinemaFest about their nadirs of middle school. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "The Stars Of Eighth Grade Relive Their Middle School Horror Stories," 13 July 2018 Talk of a blue wave this year that would give Democrats control of Congress has been thrown into question by a strong economy as well as a small, but steady increase in Trump’s approval since its nadir last year. — John Fritze, USA TODAY, "Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un may give him some political benefits for midterms," 11 June 2018 What became known as Bloody Sunday marked a nadir in British-Irish relations, and brought the GAA into direct conflict with the British establishment. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Dozen players named to represent Deer Park in Mustang all-star competition," 24 May 2018 Ronald Reagan brought his California movie-star wattage and conservative duende, and, like that, after a four-year interlude from the Nixonian nadir, the Republican party was seemingly resurrected and would run the table for the next 12 years. — Michael Paterniti, GQ, "Jimmy Carter for Higher Office," 26 June 2018 The nadir was the Iraq oil-for-food programme in the 1990s, administered by the UN. — The Economist, "Zap! American officials can destroy foreign firms like gremlins on a screen," 5 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nadir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.