pelorus

[ puh-lawr-uhs, -lohr- ]

/ pəˈlɔr əs, -ˈloʊr- /

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noun, plural pe·lo·rus·es.Navigation.

a device for measuring in degrees the relative bearings of observed objects.

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Also called dumb compass.

Origin of pelorus

1850–55; perhaps <Latin Pelōrus, now Faro in Sicily, a cape which requires skill in navigation

Words nearby pelorus

Peloponnesian War, Peloponnesus, Pelops, peloria, pelorize, pelorus, pelota, Pelotas, peloton, pelt, peltast

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pelorus in a sentence

But while they doubted, there blew a north wind from Pelorus, wherewith they sailed onwards, and Achmenides with them.
Stories of the Old world|Alfred John Church
Directly opposite stood another building of the same sort, called the tower of Pelorus.
A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology. Volume I.|Jacob Bryant
But while they doubted, there blew a north wind from Pelorus, wherewith they sailed onwards, and Achæmenides with them.
Stories from Virgil|Alfred J. Church
The center line of the pelorus should also be directly over the keel line of the ship.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper

Second, it must be remembered that the bearing of any object obtained from the pelorus is the bearing by compass.
Lectures in Navigation|Ernest Gallaudet Draper

British Dictionary definitions for pelorus

pelorus

/ (pɪˈlɔːrəs) /

noun plural -ruses

a sighting device used in conjunction with a magnetic compass or a gyrocompass for measuring the relative bearings of observed points

Word Origin for pelorus

of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin Pelōrus a dangerous Sicilian promontory

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