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4 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]
Compass \Com"pass\ (k[u^]m"pas), n. [F. compas, fr. LL.
compassus circle, prop., a stepping together; com- + passus
pace, step. See Pace, Pass.]
1. A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
[1913 Webster]
They fetched a compass of seven day's journey. --2
Kings iii. 9.
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This day I breathed first; time is come round,
And where I did begin, there shall I end;
My life is run his compass. --Shak.
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2. An inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within
the compass of an encircling wall.
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3. An inclosed space; an area; extent.
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Their wisdom . . . lies in a very narrow compass.
--Addison.
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4. Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of
his eye; the compass of imagination.
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The compass of his argument. --Wordsworth.
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5. Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits;
-- used with within.
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In two hundred years before (I speak within
compass), no such commission had been executed.
--Sir J.
Davies.
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6. (Mus.) The range of notes, or tones, within the capacity
of a voice or instrument.
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You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of
my compass. --Shak.
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7. An instrument for determining directions upon the earth's
surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning
freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and
southerly direction.
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He that first discovered the use of the compass did
more for the supplying and increase of useful
commodities than those who built workhouses.
--Locke.
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8. A pair of compasses. [R.] See Compasses.
To fix one foot of their compass wherever they
please. --Swift.
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9. A circle; a continent. [Obs.]
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The tryne compas [the threefold world containing
earth, sea, and heaven. --Skeat.] --Chaucer.
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Azimuth compass. See under Azimuth.
Beam compass. See under Beam.
Compass card, the circular card attached to the needles of
a mariner's compass, on which are marked the thirty-two
points or rhumbs.
Compass dial, a small pocket compass fitted with a sundial
to tell the hour of the day.
Compass plane (Carp.), a plane, convex in the direction of
its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave
faces of curved woodwork.
Compass plant, Compass flower (Bot.), a plant of the
American prairies ({Silphium laciniatum), not unlike a
small sunflower; rosinweed. Its lower and root leaves are
vertical, and on the prairies are disposed to present
their edges north and south.
[1913 Webster]
Its leaves are turned to the north as true as the
magnet:
This is the compass flower. --Longefellow.
Compass saw, a saw with a narrow blade, which will cut in a
curve; -- called also fret saw and keyhole saw.
Compass timber (Shipbuilding), curved or crooked timber.
Compass window (Arch.), a circular bay window or oriel
window.
Mariner's compass, a kind of compass used in navigation. It
has two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a
card, which moves freely upon a pivot, and is read with
reference to a mark on the box representing the ship's
head. The card is divided into thirty-two points, called
also rhumbs, and the glass-covered box or bowl containing
it is suspended in gimbals within the binnacle, in order
to preserve its horizontal position.
Surveyor's compass, an instrument used in surveying for
measuring horizontal angles. See Circumferentor.
Variation compass, a compass of delicate construction, used
in observations on the variations of the needle.
To fetch a compass, to make a circuit.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]
Azimuth \Az"i*muth\, n. [OE. azimut, F. azimut, fr. Ar.
as-sum?t, pl. of as-samt a way, or perh., a point of the
horizon and a circle extending to it from the zenith, as
being the Arabic article: cf. It. azzimutto, Pg. azimuth, and
Ar. samt-al-r[=a]'s the vertex of the heaven. Cf. Zenith.]
(Astron. & Geodesy)
(a) The quadrant of an azimuth circle.
(b) An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian
of the place and a vertical circle passing through the
center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the
azimuth or bearing of a line surveying.
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Note: In trigonometrical surveying, it is customary to reckon
the azimuth of a line from the south point of the
horizon around by the west from 0[deg] to 360[deg].
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Azimuth circle, or Vertical circle, one of the great
circles of the sphere intersecting each other in the
zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at right angles.
--Hutton.
Azimuth compass, a compass resembling the mariner's
compass, but having the card divided into degrees instead
of rhumbs, and having vertical sights; used for taking the
magnetic azimuth of a heavenly body, in order to find, by
comparison with the true azimuth, the variation of the
needle.
Azimuth dial, a dial whose stile or gnomon is at right
angles to the plane of the horizon. --Hutton.
Magnetic azimuth, an arc of the horizon, intercepted
between the vertical circle passing through any object and
the magnetic meridian. This is found by observing the
object with an azimuth compass.
[1913 Webster]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]
Azimuth \Az"i*muth\, n. [OE. azimut, F. azimut, fr. Ar.
as-sum?t, pl. of as-samt a way, or perh., a point of the
horizon and a circle extending to it from the zenith, as
being the Arabic article: cf. It. azzimutto, Pg. azimuth, and
Ar. samt-al-r[=a]'s the vertex of the heaven. Cf. Zenith.]
(Astron. & Geodesy)
(a) The quadrant of an azimuth circle.
(b) An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian
of the place and a vertical circle passing through the
center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the
azimuth or bearing of a line surveying.
Note: In trigonometrical surveying, it is customary to reckon
the azimuth of a line from the south point of the
horizon around by the west from 0[deg] to 360[deg].
Azimuth circle, or Vertical circle, one of the great
circles of the sphere intersecting each other in the
zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at right angles.
--Hutton.
Azimuth compass, a compass resembling the mariner's
compass, but having the card divided into degrees instead
of rhumbs, and having vertical sights; used for taking the
magnetic azimuth of a heavenly body, in order to find, by
comparison with the true azimuth, the variation of the
needle.
Azimuth dial, a dial whose stile or gnomon is at right
angles to the plane of the horizon. --Hutton.
Magnetic azimuth, an arc of the horizon, intercepted
between the vertical circle passing through any object and
the magnetic meridian. This is found by observing the
object with an azimuth compass.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]
4. Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of
his eye; the compass of imagination.
The compass of his argument. --Wordsworth.
5. Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits;
-- used with within.
In two hundred years before (I speak within
compass), no such commission had been executed.
--Sir J.
Davies.
6. (Mus.) The range of notes, or tones, within the capacity
of a voice or instrument.
You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of
my compass. --Shak.
7. An instrument for determining directions upon the earth's
surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning
freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and
southerly direction.
He that first discovered the use of the compass did
more for the supplying and increase of useful
commodities than those who built workhouses.
--Locke.
8. A pair of compasses. [R.] See Compasses..
To fix one foot of their compass wherever they
please. --Swift.
9. A circle; a continent. [Obs.]
The tryne compas [the threefold world containing
earth, sea, and heaven. --Skeat.] --Chaucer.
Azimuth compass. See under Azimuth.
Beam compass. See under Beam.
Compass card, the circular card attached to the needles of
a mariner's compass, on which are marked the thirty-two
points or rhumbs.
Compass dial, a small pocket compass fitted with a sundial
to tell the hour of the day.
Compass plane (Carp.), a plane, convex in the direction of
its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave
faces of curved woodwork.
Compass plant, Compass flower (Bot.), a plant of the
American prairies ({Silphium laciniatum), not unlike a
small sunflower; rosinweed. Its lower and root leaves are
vertical, and on the prairies are disposed to present
their edges north and south.
Its leaves are turned to the north as true as the
magnet: This is the compass flower. --Longefellow.
Compass saw, a saw with a narrow blade, which will cut in a
curve; -- called also fret saw and keyhole saw.
Compass timber (Shipbuilding), curved or crooked timber.
Compass window (Arch.), a circular bay window or oriel
window.
Mariner's compass, a kind of compass used in navigation. It
has two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a
card, which moves freely upon a pivot, and is read with
reference to a mark on the box representing the ship's
head. The card is divided into thirty-two points, called
also rhumbs, and the glass-covered box or bowl containing
it is suspended in gimbals within the binnacle, in order
to preserve its horizontal position.
Surveyor's compass, an instrument used in surveying for
measuring horizontal angles. See Circumferentor.
Variation compass, a compass of delicate construction, used
in observations on the variations of the needle.
To fetch a compass, to make a circuit.
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