Dictionary

apogee en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈæp.ə.d͡ʒi/

Etymology

From Middle French apogée, from Latin apogaeum, apogēum, from Ancient Greek ἀπόγειον (apógeion, “away from Earth”), from ἀπό (apó, “away”) + γῆ (gê, “Earth”).

Meanings

1. The point, in an orbit about the Earth, that is farthest from the Earth: the apoapsis of an Earth orbiter.
2. (broadly) The point, in an orbit about any planet, that is farthest from the planet: the apoapsis of any satellite.
   • [Nereid’s] apogee—farthest point from Neptune—is five times the distance of its perigee—its closest point. 2010, Ruth Walker, Mary M. Shaffrey, et al., Exploring Space: The High Frontier, Jones & Bartlett Learning, →ISBN, page 129:
   • The resolution of the images obtained by this American probe [Messenger] will depend on its altitude [above Mercury] at any one time: about ten meters at perigee (200km altitude), but only one 1 km at apogee (15000km). 2002, Serge Brunier, Solar System Voyage, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 36:
   • Conjunctions of I and II [Io and Europa] occur when they are near perigee and apogee respectively; conjunctions of II and III [Europa and Ganymede] occur when II [Europa] is near perigee. 1995, John H. Rogers, The Giant Planet Jupiter, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 335:
3. (qualifier:possibly archaic outside astrology) The point, in any trajectory of an object in space, where it is farthest from the Earth.
4. (figuratively) The highest point.
   • Another manifestation, significantly reaching its apogee in the midst of Antonine virtues, was the growing popularity of adoxographical exercises. Mock panegyrics were dashed off, not just by sardonic intellectuals such as Lucian, but also by trained courtiers and polished encomiasts of the stamp of [Marcus Cornelius] Fronto. 1979, Carl Deroux, editor, Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History [Collection Latomus; 164], volume 1, Brussels: Latomus, →OCLC, page 111:
   • The apogee of Ming China […] came in the half century following his [the Hongwu Emperor's] death. Of this period, the initial two decades were dominated by his son, the Yongle emperor (1360–1424), who was a much more successful Oriental version of Richard III. 2014 September 15, Martin Gayford, “There's more to Ming than a vase [print version: 16 August 2014, pp. R6–R7]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review):
   • The cult of the chief executive reached its apogee in the nineteen-nineties, a period when C.E.O.s seemed not so much to serve their companies as to embody them. 2004 March 22, The New Yorker:

Forms

Antonyms

periapsis (antonym(s) of “a point in an orbit”) · perigee (antonym(s) of “highest point”) · nadir (antonym(s) of “highest point”) · perigee (antonym(s) of “a point in an orbit around the Earth”) · perigee is the etymological antonym

Deriveds

apogean · apogeal · apogeic

Relateds

apoapsis

Synonyms

apocenter (point in an orbit) · climax (highest point or state) · zenith (highest point or state) · apsis (point in an orbit) · apoapsis (point in an orbit) · pinnacle (highest point or state) · culmination (highest point or state) · acme (highest point or state)

Translations (40)

fr apogée (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · uk апоге́й (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · it apogeo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · el απόγειο (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · hy երկրահեռ կետ (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ro apogeu (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · fa آپوزم (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · fa افیجون (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · es apogeo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · tl higlayo sa Duta (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ar أَوْج (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · eo apogeo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · tr yeröte (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ko 원지점 (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · grc ἀπόγειον (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · cmn 遠地點 /远地点 (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · lv apogejs (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · tl higlayo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · fi apogeum (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ca apogeu (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · pt apogeu (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · bg апогей (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ms apogi (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · vi điểm viễn địa (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ru апоге́й (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · gl apoxeo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · tr evç (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · sv apogeum (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ja 遠地点 (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · hi अपभू (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · fa اوج (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · de Apogäum (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ota ذروه (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · tl apoheo (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · pl apogeum (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ta சேய்ப்புள்ளி (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · az apogey (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · sq apogje (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · ga apaigí (a point in an orbit around the Earth) · cs apogeum (a point in an orbit around the Earth)