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.

---

Etymology

Origin of mariner's compass

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

After the earlier Atlantic expeditions Sir William Thomson turned his attention to the construction of navigational instruments, and invented the mariner's compass and wire-sounding apparatus which are now so well known.

From Lord Kelvin An account of his scientific life and work by Gray, Andrew

Among the great inventions of the past are alphabetical writing, Arabic notation, the mariner's compass, the telescope, the printing-press, and the steam-engine.

From Inventions in the Century by Doolittle, William Henry

It is sometimes said that he helped to introduce many important inventions into Europe and one even finds his name connected with the mariner's compass and with gunpowder.

From The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)

We are responsible for the behaviour of the mariner's compass needle.

From Autobiography of an Electron Wherein the Scientific Ideas of the Present Time Are Explained in an Interesting and Novel Fashion by Gibson, Charles R. (Charles Robert)

Magnetism was encircling the earth with its currents long before the invention of the mariner's compass which reveals them to us.

From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Flammarion, Camille