zodiac

See also: Zodiac, zodíac, and zódiac

English

Alternative forms

• zodiack (obsolete)
• Zodiac

Etymology

From Middle English zodiak (late 14th century), from Old French zodiaque, from Latin zōdiacus, from Ancient Greek ζῳδιακός [κύκλος] (zōidiakós [kúklos], “[circle] of little animals”), from ζῴδιον (zṓidion), the diminutive of ζῷον (zôion, “animal”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈzəʊ.dɪ.æk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈzoʊ.dɪ.æk/

Noun

zodiac (plural zodiacs)

1. (astrology) The belt-like region of the celestial sphere approximately eight degrees north and south of the ecliptic which include the apparent path of the sun, moon, and visible planets.
2. (astrology) The twelve equal divisions of the zodiacal region into signs or houses, each named for a prominent constellation in the region.
3. (astronomy) The ecliptic: the belt-like region of the celestial sphere corresponding to the apparent path of the sun over the course of a year.
4. Any of various astrological systems considered similar to the above.
   • 1998, Sylvia Sikundar and Barbara DuMoulin, Celebrating Our Cultures, Pembroke Publishers Limited, →ISBN, page 58:

     Discussing both Chinese and Western zodiacs might be a prewriting activity.

5. (countable) A circle decorated with the signs of the zodiac.

Derived terms

Terms derived from zodiac

• zodiacal

• zodiacal light

• zodiac sign

Translations

belt-like region in the sky

• Armenian: կենդանակերպ (hy) (kendanakerp)
• Catalan: zodíac m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黃道帶 (zh), 黄道带 (zh) (huángdàodài)

• Czech: zvěrokruh (cs) m, zvířetník (cs) m
• Danish: zodiak c, dyrekredsj c
• Dutch: dierenriem (nl) m, zodiak (nl) m
• Esperanto: zodiako
• Finnish: eläinrata (fi)
• French: zodiaque (fr) m
• Galician: zodíaco (gl) m
• Georgian: ზოდიაქო (zodiako)
• German: Zodiac m, Zodiak (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ζῳδιακός m (zōidiakós)

• Hindi: चक्र (hi) m (cakra), राशिचक्र (hi) m (rāśicakra), भचक्र (hi) m (bhacakra)
• Hungarian: állatöv (hu), zodiákus (hu)
• Indonesian: zodiak (id)
• Irish: stoidiaca m

• Italian: zodiaco (it) m
• Japanese: 黄道帯 (こうどうたい, kōdōtai), ゾディアック (zodiakku)
• Korean: 황도대 (hwangdodae) (黃道帶), 수대 (sudae) (獸帶)
• Macedonian: зо́дијак m (zódijak)
• Maltese: żodjaku m
• Norman: zodiaque m
• Polish: zodiak (pl) m, zwierzyniec niebieski m
• Portuguese: zodíaco (pt) m
• Romanian: zodiac (ro) n
• Russian: зодиа́к (ru) m (zodiák)
• Sanskrit: चक्र (sa) m or n (cakra), राशिचक्र (sa) n (rāśicakra)
• Scottish Gaelic: grian-chrios m
• Slovak: zvieratník (sk) m, (obsolete) zverokruh m
• Spanish: zodíaco (es)
• Swedish: zodiaken (sv)
• Tagalog: tahaklaw

twelve signs in astrology

• Armenian: կենդանակերպ (hy) (kendanakerp)
• Catalan: zodíac m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (Chinese zodiac) 生肖 (zh) (shēngxiào), 屬相 (zh), 属相 (zh) (shǔxiàng), 十二宮 (zh), 十二宫 (zh) (shí'èrgōng)

• Czech: zvěrokruh (cs) m
• Danish: zodiak c, dyrekreds c
• Dutch: dierenriem (nl) m, zodiak (nl) m
• Esperanto: zodiako
• Finnish: (eläinradan) merkki
• French: zodiaque (fr) m
• Georgian: ზოდიაქო (zodiako)
• German: Tierkreis (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ζῳδιακός m (zōidiakós)

• Hindi: राशि (hi) f (rāśi), राशिचक्र (hi) m (rāśicakra), चक्र (hi) m (cakra), भचक्र (hi) m (bhacakra) , बुर्ज (hi) m (burj)
• Hungarian: állatöv (hu), zodiákus (hu)
• Indonesian: zodiak (id)
• Irish: comhartha an Stoidiaca m
• Italian: zodiaco (it) m

• Japanese: 星座 (ja) (seiza), 十二宮 (ja) (じゅうにきゅう, jūnikyū)
• Korean: 황도십이궁 (hwangdosibigung) (黃道十二宮), 십이궁 (sibigung) (十二宮), 십이성좌 (sibiseongjwa) (十二星座)
• Macedonian: зо́дијак m (zódijak), хо́роскоп m (hóroskop)
• Malay: zodiak
• Maltese: żodjaku m
• Norman: zodiaque m
• Norwegian: zodiak m, dyrekrets (no) m, stjernetegnene n pl (definite)
• Polish: zodiak (pl) m, zwierzyniec niebieski m
• Portuguese: zodíaco (pt) m
• Romanian: zodiac (ro) n
• Russian: зодиа́к (ru) m (zodiák)
• Sanskrit: चक्र (sa) m or n (cakra), राशिचक्र (sa) n (rāśicakra), राशि (sa) m or f (rāśi)
• Scottish Gaelic: grian-chrios m, casan na grèine f pl
• Slovak: zvieratník (sk) m, (obsolete) zverokruh m
• Spanish: zodíaco (es)
• Tagalog: tahaklaw

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} dierenriem (nl) m, ^{(please verify)} zodiak (nl) m

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 黃道 (huáng dào)

See also

• ecliptic
• zodiacal

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Spanish

Noun

zodiac m (plural zodiacs)

1. Alternative spelling of zódiac (“rubber dinghy”)