equinna (ekwina)

[Amer. Ind. (Oregon).] Same as quinnat. equinoctia (e-kwi-nok's hiä), n. pl. [ Tempests in State are commonly greatest when things grow to equality, as natural tempests about the equinoctia . Bacon , Seditions and Troubles (ed. 1887). equinoctial (e-kwi-nok's hal), (e-kwi-nok's ha a. and n. [Formerly also æquinoctial ; equinoctial , equi noxial = OF. equinocial , F. équinoxial = Pr. Sp. Pg. equinoccial = It. equinoziale , æquiпос tialis , æquinoctium , equinox: see equinox .] Ι. a. 1. Pertaining to the equinoxes; marking an equal length of day and night: as, the equinос tial line, or equator. The middel cercle in wydne e of thise 3 is cleped the cercle equinoxial upon whiche turneth evermo the hedes of Aries and Libra. Chaucer, Astrolabe, i. 17. Thrice the equinoctial line He circled; four times cro 'd the car of night From pole to pole, travérsing each colure. 2. Milton, P. L., ix. 64. Pertaining to the regions or climate of the equinoctial line, or equator; in or near that line: as, equinoctial heat; an equinoctial sun; equi noctial wind.-3. Occurring at the time of an equinox: as, an equinoctial storm. - Equinoctial colure, the great circle pa ing through the poles and equinoctial points. See colure . Equinoctial dial. See dial . - Equinoctial flowers, flowers that open at a regular equinoctial stated hour.- Equinoctial points, the two points in which the celestial equator and the ecliptic intersect each other. The one is the first point of Aries, and is called the vernal point or equinox; the other is the first point of Libra, and is called the autumnal point or equinox. (See equinox.) These points are found to be moving backward or westward at the rate of 50" of a degree in a year, a movement constituting the prece ion of the equinoxes. See prece ion. - Equinoctial time, time reckoned from the instant at which the sun pa es the vernal equinox: a method of reckoning time independent of the longitude, invented by Sir John Herschel. II. n. [For equinoctial line .] 1. In astron., the celestial equator: so called because when the sun is on it the days and nights are of equal length in all parts of the world. IMG:content-0658.png:[blocks in formation] W. Black , White Wings, xxi. equinoctially (e-kwi-nok's hal-i), adv. In the direction of the equinoctial. Formerly also æquin oct i ally. The floure [convolvulus] twists æquin oct i ally from the left hand to the right. Sir T. Browne , Garden of Cyrus, iv. equinox (ē'kwi-noks), n. [(ME. equinoxium , pl. equinox i is, équinoxe , formerly equi nocce = Pr. equinocci = Sp. Pg. equinoccio = It. equinozio, L. æquinoctium, the equinox, æquus, equal, + nox ( noct- ) = E. night: see night.] 1. The moment when the sun cro es the plane of the earth's equator, making the day and night everywhere of equal length (whence the name). There are two annual equinoxes, the ver nal, which falls in the spring, namely, on the 21st of March according to the Greg or i an calendar, and the autumnal, which falls in the autumn, namely, on the 22d of September. The term equinox is also loosely applied to the equi noctial points (which see, under equinoctial ). Live long, nor feel in head or chest Our changeful equinoxes . IMG:content-0659.png:[blocks in formation] The church, as it is now equipped , looks more like a green-house than a place of worship. The middle aisle is a very pretty shady walk, and the pews look like so many arbours on each side of it. Steele , Spectator, No. 282. Then over all, that he might be Equipp'd from top to toe, His long red cloak, well-brush'd and neat, He manfully did throw. Cowper , John Gilpin.