DECLINATION

noun Etymology: Middle English declinacioun, from Middle French ~, from Latin ~-, declinatio angle of the heavens, turning aside Date: 14th century angular distance north or south from the celestial equator measured along a great circle passing through the celestial poles, a turning aside or swerving, deterioration , a bending downward ; inclination , a formal refusal, the angle formed between a magnetic needle and the geographical meridian, ~al adjective