sextant
pronunciation
How to pronounce sextant in British English:
UK [ˈsekstənt]
How to pronounce sextant in American English:
US [ˈsɛkstənt]
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- Noun:
- a unit of angular distance equal to 60 degrees
- a measuring instrument for measuring the angular distance between celestial objects; resembles an octant
Word Origin
- sextant
- sextant: [17] A sextant is etymologically an instrument based on a ‘sixth’ of a circle. Sextants measure off the angle between the horizon and a celestial body on a graduated scale that is marked on an arc equal to one sixth of a circle. They were first named at the beginning of the 17th century by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who used the term sextāns ‘sixth part’, a derivative of Latin sextus ‘sixth’ (to which English six is closely related). The anglicized version sextant is first recorded in 1628.=> six
- sextant (n.)
- instrument for determining latitude, 1620s, from Modern Latin sextans, said to have been coined c. 1600 by Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, from Latin sextans "a sixth," from sex "six" (see six). So called because the sextans has a graduated arc equal to a sixth part of a circle.
Example
- 1. The sextant is hard to use .
- 2. On that month-long trip he carried no compass , sextant or charts .
- 3. Imagine trying to deduce this with the naked eye , a sextant and little else .
- 4. U.s. navy working brandis & sons sextant .
- 5. He plays with an astrolabe and sextant , but , with characteristic excess , almost contracts sunstroke " from trying to establish an exact method to ascertain noon . "