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| sextant [ sékstənt ] (plural sextants) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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navigational instrument: a navigational instrument incorporating a telescope and an angular scale that is used to work out latitude and longitude. An astronomical object is viewed through the telescope and its angular distance above the horizon is read off the scale. The data is then used to calculate the viewer's position.
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| [Late 16th century. < Latin sextant- 'sixth part (of a circle)' (from the arc on which the scale is marked) < sextus 'sixth'] |
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