There are many words in the Russian language that came to it from other countries. The word "apogee" is no exception. But, unfortunately, today its significance is not known to everyone. This article will help you understand what apogee is, find out its direct and figurative meaning, as well as when it is appropriate to use this word in everyday speech.
Etymology of the word
Before you figure out what apogee is, you need to study its etymology. This word originates in the ancient Greek language - ἀπόγειος. When parsing, it can be seen that it is divided into components, namely ἀπο- (away from something) and γειος (Earth), which in total turns out to be “away from the Earth”. Today, many etymologists and linguists claim that this word passed from the ancient Greek language into Latin, where it took on a more modernized form - apogeios. And later it spread among other linguistic cultures.
Meaning of the word
Thus, the astronomical meaning sounds like this - the apogee is the farthest pointsatellite (artificial or natural) in relation to the center of the planet Earth. However, it is worth dwelling on what is the apogee in the vocabulary of the average person, because this word is used not only in the professional speech of astronomers.
In everyday meaning, the word "apogee" is the heyday, the highest point, the rise of something. Examples of use - "Participation in the Olympic Games was the apogee of their professional career", "The apogee of his fame fell on the writer in the fiftieth year of his life."
In conclusion, it is extremely important to note that all borrowed words must be used correctly by an educated person and not cause any ambiguity among his listeners and interlocutors. Now, knowing what apogee is, using this expression will not cause any difficulties in conducting secular and scientific conversations.
