cross-staff
Americannoun
-
cross-staffs,
plural
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cross-staves
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cross-staff
1400–50, for an earlier sense; late Middle English
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The cross-staff is merely one of a series of instruments, such as the quadrant and the sextant, designed for measuring angles by taking sightings.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
You can use a cross-staff, for example, to measure the angle between the horizon and the sun at midday.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
So Tycho worked out a table of corrections for the instrument from which he could read off the correct measurement corresponding to the incorrect reading obtained by the cross-staff for any observation he made.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
The cross-staff is a very simple instrument, a calibrated shaft along which a bar slides.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Although the details of the instruments he used are not crucial to my story, it is worth mentioning one, called a cross-staff or radius, which Tycho had made for him early in 1564.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
Got Gordon to make a dozen cross-staffs and started for it to take levels.
From The Narrative of Gordon Sellar Who Emigrated to Canada in 1825 by Gordon Sellar
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