Earth's axis
2
4.5
- noun
:
eje de la Tierra
- The Earth rotates on its axis, completing one full turn every 24 hours.
- the tilt of Earth's axis
- Earth's axis of rotation
- precession of Earth's axis
Examples
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The tilt of the Earth's axis.
Blog text (31) -
According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the displacement of Earth's axis will cause natural disasters on the Eastern coast of the USA, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Blog text (24) -
You see, the earth takes 24 hours to turn round on its axis.
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It's eight degrees off its axis.
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While more impacts are expected around the globe as the Earth spins on its axis...
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A change of season thus no longer had anything to do with the tilt of the Earth's axis.
Fiction book (2002) -
The wobbling of Earth's axis causes the location of the equinoxes to occur earlier every year.
Blog text (13) -
The Earth's axis of rotation is currently offset about 23.4 degrees relative to its orbital plane.
Blog text (31) -
Tidal forces from the sun cause the Earth's axis to wobble over a 26,000-year period.
Blog text (13) -
This is the precession, the gyroscopic spin of the Earth's axis, as it responds to the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun.
Academic text (1999)
Synonyms
44
5.1
A straight line that an object turns around, like the Earth turning
1
4.3
A straight line that an object turns around
Surface Forms
Morphology
Earth's + axis
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'Earth's' (the possessive of Earth) with 'axis' (a line around which an object rotates); a learner who knows both constituents can infer an imaginary line about which the Earth rotates. This simple possessive–noun composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'eje de la Tierra'), so a B1 learner would readily understand it.
Etymology
Earth's axis: The term Earth's axis names an 'imaginary' line, the axis, through the planet from the North Pole to the South Pole that the Earth 'spins' around. Because the axis is slightly tilted, it makes the seasons, so thinking of a tilted rod through a spinning ball helps you remember the meaning.