Talk:Nadir

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[edit] Text moved from article

I moved the following text here. It first needs some explanation as to its relevance to the English meaning of 'point opposite the zenith', then it can be moved back:

Nadir also means 'precious' and 'rare' in arabic. (spelt nadir or nader) -- User:57.73.15.6

BillC 22:06, 29 November 2005 (UTC)


Actually, it's from the phrase "nazir as-samt", that is, "opposite the zenith". While I'm not sure what "nadir" means in 'Arabic, I'm sure that the 2 words are not related (the root of one is nun-dal-rah and the other is nun-zah-rah). The English pronunciation of "nazir" is simply a mistake (like "samt" being pronounced "zenith", or "sifr" being pronounced "zero" etc). Zyxoas (talk to me - I'll listen) 13:44, 9 July 2006 (UTC)