loxodromic

American

[lok-suh-drom-ik] / ˌlɒk səˈdrɒm ɪk /

Also loxodromical

adjective

noting, pertaining to, or according to loxodromes or rhumb lines.
noting or pertaining to a map projection, as Mercator's projection, in which rhumb lines appear as straight lines.

loxodromic British

/ ˌlɒksəˈdrɒmɪk /

adjective

of or relating to rhumb lines or to map projections on which rhumb lines appear straight, as on a Mercator projection

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

loxodromically adverb
nonloxodromic adjective
nonloxodromical adjective

Etymology

Origin of loxodromic

1695–1705; < Greek loxó ( s ) slanting, crosswise + dromikós of a course; -drome, -ic

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.

Loxodromic, lok-so-drom′ik, adj. pertaining to certain lines on the surface of a sphere which cut all meridians at the same angle, and indicate the course held by ships in rhumb sailing.—Loxodromic curve, line, or spiral, the course of a ship oblique to the equator and cutting all the meridians at the same angle, sailing constantly toward the same point of the compass.—Loxodromics, the art of such oblique sailing.

From Project Gutenberg

No one knew what an "isometric equatorial projection of a loxodromic curve" was, or seemed to care.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023