culminate

Definition

Of a heavenly body, to be at the highest point, reach its greatest altitude.

Etymology

First attested in 1647; borrowed from Medieval Latin culminātus, perfect passive participle of culminō (“to crown”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin culmen (“peak, the highest point”), older form columen (“top, summit”), from Proto-Italic *kolamen, from a Proto-Indo-European base *kol-, *kelH- (“to project, rise; peak, summit, top”), whence also English hill and holm.

Example Sentences

• "As when his beams at noon / Culminate from the equator."
• "The type of Cycads culminated in the Mesozoic"
• "The house of Burgundy was rapidly culminating."

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