ecuador

equator

noun eh-kwah-DOHR Rare

Origin: Medieval Latin aequator (equaliser), from aequare (to equalise) — the line that equalises day and night.

Also means

midpoint

Usage Note

Ecuador (lowercase) means the geographical equator. Written with a capital letter, Ecuador is the proper name of the South American country, named for lying on that line. In informal use, ecuador can mean the halfway point of a project or journey (hemos llegado al ecuador del curso = we have reached the halfway point of the course). Always use lowercase when referring to the imaginary line.

Examples

"El ecuador divide el planeta en dos hemisferios iguales."

Natural Translation

The equator divides the planet into two equal hemispheres.

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