[ ɪ'kweɪtə ]
■ noun a line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.
↘short for celestial ~ .
Origin
ME: from med. L. a~ , in the phr. circulus a~ diei et noctis 'circle equalizing day and night', from L. aequare (see equate ).