Where does “zenith” come from?

Zenith comes from Middle English cenyth, from Medieval Latin cenit, from Arabic سَمْت, short for Arabic سَمْت اَلرَّأْس meaning "path of the head," referring to the point in the sky directly overhead.

zenith (English): The point in the sky vertically above a given...

Definitions

  1. The point in the sky vertically above a given...

Ancestry of “zenith”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcenythzenith
2Medieval Latincenitzenith
3Arabicسَمْتdirection, path
4Aramaicסֵימִטָא
5Latinsēmitanarrow way, footpath, path, pathway
6Proto-Italicsēmitā
7Proto-Indo-Europeanswé(d)

Words derived from “zenith

Every word from Proto-Indo-European swé(d)Every word from Proto-Italic sēmitāEvery word from Latin sēmita
zenith — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer