Definition of APHELION

aphelion

Plural: aphelia, aphelions

Noun

  • A planet's orbital point farthest from the sun.
  • apoapsis in solar orbit; the point in the orbit of a planet or comet that is at the greatest distance from the sun
  • The point in the elliptical orbit of a comet, planet, or other astronomical object, where it is farthest from the Sun.

Examples

  • His score seemed at its aphelion, as far from winning as possible.

Origin / Etymology

From New Latin aphēlium (whence English aphelium, now displaced) + -ion (used in the names of other apsides). Aphelium was formed from Ancient Greek ἀπο- (apo-, prefix meaning ‘away, from, off’) + ἥλῐος (hḗlĭos, “the sun”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (“the sun”)), modelled after New Latin apogaeum (“apogee”).
The plural form aphelia is from aphelion + -a (plural form of the suffix -on).

Antonyms

perihelion

Scrabble Score: 13

aphelion: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
aphelion: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
aphelion: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

aphelion: valid Words With Friends Word