mariner's compass

American  

noun

1. a compass used for navigational purposes, consisting of a pivoted compass card in a gimbal-mounted, nonferrous metal bowl.

2. (initial capital letter) compass.

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Etymology

Origin of mariner's compass

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

Another cause which powerfully contributed to the development of navigation, and consequently of shipbuilding, was the introduction of the mariner's compass into Western Europe during the first half of the thirteenth century.

From Ancient and Modern Ships. Part 1. Wooden Sailing Ships by Holmes, George C. V.

Gimbal, gim′bal, n. a contrivance for suspending the mariner's compass, so as to keep it always horizontal.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

There is nothing in the history of ancient navigation that is analogous to the invention of the mariner’s compass or of the steam-engine.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various

Tides were a mystery to him, the mariner's compass an unknown quantity.

From With Beatty off Jutland A Romance of the Great Sea Fight by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Yet we would surely be regarded as very credulous if we could be induced to believe that the mariner's compass has originated in that way.

From The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science by Dawson, John William