circumhorizontal
1
9.9
A bright band of light that appears around the horizon in the sky
- adjective
- /ˌsɜrkəmˈhɜrɪzənˌtəl/
- Specialized
:
circumhorizontal
- The artist captured the essence of a circumhorizontal arc in her painting, depicting its colorful glow around the horizon.
Examples
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During the storm, I witnessed a stunning circumhorizontal phenomenon as the sunlight refracted through the clouds.
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The sky was filled with a beautiful circumhorizontal arc that displayed vibrant colors at sunset.
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Actually, it's, um, a circumhorizontal arc.
Surface Forms
circumhorizontal positive
Morphology
circumhorizontal = horizontal (semi-transparent) = circum + horizontal
Formed by prefixing 'circum-' (meaning 'around') to 'horizontal'; the meaning is predictable if the learner knows the prefix, which is less common.
Etymology
Circumhorizontal comes from circum- meaning 'around' and horizontal meaning 'along the horizon'. So a circumhorizontal arc is a bright band or halo that appears around or low on the horizon, and that is why the word names these sky displays.