Webster's English Dictionary

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equator

equa.tor \i-'kwa-t-*r, 'e--.kwa-t-\ n [ME, fr. ML aequator, lit., 
   equalizer, fr. L aequatus; fr. its cont]aining the equinoxes 1: the great 
   circle of the celestial sphere whose plane is perpendicular to  the axis of 
   the earth 2: a great circle of the earth that is everywhere equally distant 
   from the  two poles and divides the earth's surface into the northern and 
   southern hemispheres 3: a circle or circular band dividing the surface of a 
   body into two usu. e qual and symmetrical parts 4: GREAT CIRCLE