Standard Lemma guide

periapsis

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The point of a body's (elliptical) orbit in a 2-body gravitational system such that the distance between the two bodies (measured from their respective centres of mass) is at its minimum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: astronomy, astrophysics, natural-sciences

Examples

  • 1983, Richard O. Fimmel, Laurence Colin, Eric Burgess, Pioneer Venus, NASA SP-461, page 109, Figure 5-19. Sun-Venus-Orbiter geometry illustrates how the periapsis moves around the planet during the Venusian sidereal year to sample day and night hemispheres. Because the planet rotates in a retrograde direction, it takes more than one Venusian sidereal year for periapsis to move over all longitudes of the planet (as explained in text).
  • 2004, R. S. Saunders, et al., Mars Odyssey Mission, C. T. Russell (editor), 2001 Mars Odyssey, Kluwer Academic Publishers, page 34, The main aerobraking phase began once the point of the spacecraft's periapsis had been lowered to within 110 km above the Martian surface.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The minimum distance between the two bodies in such a system.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

(astronomy) the point in an orbit closest to the body being orbited

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: point of periapsis

Antonyms: apoapsis

Broader terms: celestial point

Narrower terms: perigee, perihelion, perijove, periselene, perilune

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der. Ancient Greek περῐ́ (perĭ́)der. English peri- English apsis English periapsis From peri- + apsis.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: периапсида (periapsida) — Translations
  • Dutch: perifocus — Translations
  • Dutch: periapsis — Translations
  • Finnish: periapsis — Translations
  • French: périapse — Translations
  • French: périapside — Translations
  • Greek: περίαψη (períapsi) — Translations
  • Irish: pearaipsis — Translations
  • Portuguese: periapside — Translations