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Apex entered English from Latin, where it originally meant "a small rod at the top of a flamen's cap." What's a flamen's cap? Flamens were priests who devoted themselves to serving just one of the many ancient Roman gods (for instance, just Jupiter or Mars). Those priests wore distinctive conical caps that English speakers dubbed "flamen's caps." Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century dramatist Ben Jonson was one of the few English writers known to have used "apex" in its flamen's-cap sense: "Upon his head a hat of delicate wool, whose top ended in a cone, and was thence called apex."
Synonyms
summit, peak, pinnacle, climax, apex, acme, culmination mean the highest point attained or attainable.
summit implies the topmost level attainable.
peak suggests the highest among other high points.
pinnacle suggests a dizzying and often insecure height.
climax implies the highest point in an ascending series.
apex implies the point where all ascending lines converge.
acme implies a level of quality representing the perfection of a thing.
culmination suggests the outcome of a growth or development representing an attained objective.
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Word History
Latin
1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
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Cite this Entry
“Apex.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apex. Accessed 12 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
apex
nounMedical Definition
apex
nounMore from Merriam-Webster on apex
Nglish: Translation of apex for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of apex for Arabic Speakers
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