apogean
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ap·o·gee
(ăp′ə-jē)n.
1.
a. Astronomy The point in an orbit around the planet Earth where the orbiting body is farthest from the planet.
b. The analogous point in an orbit around a celestial body other than Earth. Not in technical use.
2. The farthest or highest point; the apex: "The golden age of American sail, which began with the fast clipper ships in 1848, reached its apogee in the Gold Rush years" (Los Angeles Times).
[French apogée, from New Latin apogaeum, from Greek apogaion, from neuter of apogaios, far from the earth : apo-, apo- + gaia, earth.]
ap′o·ge′an (-jē′ən) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Adj. | 1. |  apogean - relating to or characteristic of an apogee; "apogean tides occur when the moon is at the apogee of its orbit" |
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