Pĕr'i-gēe or Pĕr'i-gē'um, n.

n. [Fr. périgée, It. & Sp. perigeo, N. Lat. perigæum, from Gr. περί, about, near, and γῆ, the earth.] (Astron.) That point in the orbit of the moon which is nearest to the earth;—opposed to apogee. It is used rarely of the nearest points of other orbits, as of a comet, a planet, and the like. Hutton.