leap second

English

Etymology

1971; derived from the terminology for leap day/leap year.

Noun

leap second (plural leap seconds)

1. A second of time added to the year occasionally to compensate for variation in the rate of Earth's rotation relative to the absolute standards of time.

Related terms

• leap
• leap year
• second

 

Translations

a second of time added to the year occasionally to compensate for variation in the rate of Earth's rotation relative to the absolute standards of time

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 閏秒 / 闰秒 (zh) (rùnmiǎo)

• Finnish: karkaussekunti
• German: Schaltsekunde (de) f
• Hungarian: szökőmásodperc
• Italian: secondo intercalare m
• Russian: корректировочная секу́нда f (korrektirovočnaja sekúnda), секу́нда координации f (sekúnda koordinacii), високосная секу́нда f (visokosnaja sekúnda)
• Spanish: segundo intercalar m
• Swedish: skottsekund (sv) c

Further reading

• “leap second”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “leap second, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “leap second”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “leap second” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Anagrams

• penal codes, pole dances