meridian circle
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of meridian circle
First recorded in 1540–50
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.
The points of contact thus ascertained were marked with faint dots, and the meridian circle thereby divided into 256 very nearly equal parts.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various
One is a polar astrolabe, mounted somewhat as a modern equatorial telescope is, and the meridian circle is adjustable so that it can be used in any place, no matter what its latitude might be.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck
Physicists were sometimes jocularly greeted among astronomers as "ribbon men," and no one even dreamed that their researches were one day to advance to equal recognition with results derived from micrometer, meridian circle, and heliometer.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck
But the accuracy of the meridian circle renders these minute quantities evident, and gives to them their true significance.
From The Story of the Heavens by Ball, Robert S. (Robert Stawell), Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.