pelorus

[ puh-lawr-uh s, -lohr- ]

/ pəˈlɔr əs, -ˈloʊr- /

noun, plural pe·lo·rus·es. Navigation.

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

Nearby words

peloponnesus, pelops, peloria, peloric, pelorize, pelorus, pelota, pelotas, peloton, pelt, peltast

Origin of pelorus

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

Also called dumb compass.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pelorus

What the real psychic meaning of "Pelorus Jack" may have been was not recorded by the press.
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist|Arthur Conan Doyle
"That's the Pelorus," he told Terry as the yacht passed within a mile, on the way to her former anchorage.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster
After a long time the Pelorus got alongside and men quickly fastened the huge buoy to the ship.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster
"The Pelorus will send a boat as soon as we've anchored," he told them.
Creatures of the Abyss|Murray Leinster

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

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