běn chū zǐ wǔ xiàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
the first meridian / the prime meridian
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-381931ca24cbf395. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

本初子午線 本初子午线 [ben3 chu1 zi3 wu3 xian4] /the first meridian/the prime meridian/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 本初子午線

  • 本
    běn

    (bound form) root / stem / (bound form) origin / source / (bound form) one's own / this / (bound form) this / the current (year etc) / (bound form) original / (bound form) inherent / originally / initially / capital / principal / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc

  • 初
    chū

    (bound form) at first / initially / (bound form) first / early / (bound form) (in lunar calendar dates, before numerals 1–10) days 1 to 10 of a month, as in 初三[chū sān] "the third"

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 午
    wǔ

    7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse / ancient Chinese compass point: 180° (south)

  • 线
    xiàn

    thread / string / wire / line / CL:條|条[tiáo],股[gǔ],根[gēn] / (after a number) tier (unofficial ranking of a Chinese city)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.