declination Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a condition inferior to an earlier condition; a gradual falling off from a better state
decline.
noun a downward slope or bend
decline; descent; declivity; downslope; fall; declension.
noun (astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial body north or to the south of the celestial equator; expressed in degrees; used with right ascension to specify positions on the celestial sphere
dec; celestial latitude.
noun a polite refusal of an invitation
regrets.

L. declinatio a bending aside, an avoiding: cf. F. déclination a decadence. See Declension.

The act or state of bending downward; inclination; as, declination of the head.
The act or state of falling off or declining from excellence or perfection; deterioration; decay; decline. "The declination of monarchy." Bacon.
Summer . . . is not looked on as a time Of declination or decay. Waller.
The act of deviating or turning aside; oblique motion; obliquity; withdrawal.
The declination of atoms in their descent. Bentley.

Every declination and violation of the rules. South.
The act or state of declining or refusing; withdrawal; refusal; averseness.
The queen's declination from marriage. Stow.
(Astron.) The angular distance of any object from the celestial equator, either northward or southward.
(Dialing) The arc of the horizon, contained between the vertical plane and the prime vertical circle, if reckoned from the east or west, or between the meridian and the plane, reckoned from the north or south.
(Gram.) The act of inflecting a word; declension. See Decline, v. t., 4.