from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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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.
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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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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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