sextant : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: sextant	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for sextant
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sextant n a unit of angular distance equal to 60 degrees a measuring instrument for measuring the angular distance between celestial objects; resembles an octant
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sextant \Sex"tant\, n. [L. sextans, -antis, the sixth part of an as, fr. sextus sixth, sex six. See {Six}.] 1. (Math.) The sixth part of a circle. 2. An instrument for measuring angular distances between objects, -- used esp. at sea, for ascertaining the latitude and longitude. It is constructed on the same optical principle as Hadley's quadrant, but usually of metal, with a nicer graduation, telescopic sight, and its arc the sixth, and sometimes the third, part of a circle. See {Quadrant}. 3. (Astron.) The constellation Sextans. {Box sextant}, a small sextant inclosed in a cylindrical case to make it more portable.