General Discussion

I don't know if how you chose your DU name, but this is what comes up for "nadir".

Nadir is part of the galaxy of scientific words that have come to us from Arabic, a language that has made important contributions to the English lexicon especially in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. The source of nadir is naḍhīr, meaning "opposite"—the opposite, that is, of the zenith, the highest point of the celestial sphere which is positioned vertically above the observer. (The word zenith itself is a modification of another Arabic word that means "the way over one's head.&quot According to our sources, usage of nadir reached an apex in the 1980s. But worry not for the word’s future: it’s still flying high.

Synonyms of nadir
Relevance
depth
zero
abyss
Examples of nadir in a Sentence
Nantucket reached its nadir in the post-Civil War period. The whaling industry had become moribund, many New Englanders had been lured to California by the discovery of gold, and the island population dropped from ten thousand in 1830 to scarcely more than three thousand in 1880.
—David H. Wood, Antiques, August 1995
But then, at the very nadir of that dark abandoned moment, that moment of despair and sickness unto death, …
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993
My nadir was the time I presented an oral book report on "Les Misérables," having read only the Classic Comics version …
—Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 12 Oct. 1986
The relationship between the two countries reached a nadir in the 1920s.
the discussion really reached its nadir when people resorted to name-calling
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More
Tudor bears ultimate responsibility for Spurs’ latest nadir in Madrid for starting Kinsky, and his treatment of the 22-year-old Czech was brutal.
—Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Born in the nadir of the Great Depression, SAG began as an act of self-preservation in response to demands by the major Hollywood studios that the talent pool eat a 50 percent salary cut.
—Thomas Doherty, HollywoodReporter, 28 Feb. 2026
Four years ago, the women’s figure skating event was the absolute nadir of the Beijing Winter Games, after a trio of teenagers from Russia finished the competition in tears under the cloud of a positive doping test by Kamila Valieva.
—Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 23 Feb. 2026
Tang’s last three seasons have not matched his first, a series of diminishing returns that are reaching their nadir this year.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026

Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Middle French, from Arabic naḍhīr opposite

First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nadir was in the 15th century
See more words from the same century
Rhymes for nadir
aider
fader
grader
kadir
prader
raider
schrader
seder
shader
trader
crusader
invader
Browse Nearby Words
NADH
nadir
nadiral
Articles Related to nadir
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Cite this Entry
Style

MLA
“Nadir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nadir. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.