sextant Hear it!

sextant definition

sex·tant (seks′tənt)

noun

an instrument used by navigators for measuring the angular distance of the sun, a star, etc. from the horizon, as in finding the position of a ship

Etymology: ModL sextans (gen. sextantis), arc of a sixth part of a circle < L, a sixth part < sextus, sixth

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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