prismatic compass

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noun

a hand compass equipped with sights and prisms to permit aiming the instrument at a point and at the same time reading the compass direction of the point.

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Origin of prismatic compass

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby prismatic compass

prise, prisere, prisiadka, prism, prismatic, prismatic compass, prismatic layer, prismatic telescope, prismatoid, prism bar, prism binocular

How to use prismatic compass in a sentence

Muscovites call their favorite station “Ukho Moskvy” (Ear of Moscow) and see it as an institution, a compass for society.
The Kremlin Is Killing Echo of Moscow, Russia’s Last Independent Radio Station|Anna Nemtsova|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He repeated it again, slowly: “He has no values…He has no moral compass whatsoever.”
Will Chris Christie Bow to Iowa’s Pork Kings?|Olivia Nuzzi|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It radiates her inner light and compass, her disregard for status quo.
Why Maya Angelou Loved Sherry, The Drink of Brilliant Renegades|Jordan Salcito|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He goes on to compass the very nature of memory by way of considering how we memorialize mass death.
Geoff Dyer at Sea: Unmoored but on Target|Melissa Holbrook Pierson|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Boyd does have a moral compass—not yours or mine—but he does have one.
Kentucky’s Finest Antihero: Walton Goggins on Justified’s Chameleon Villain|Allen Barra|February 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She habitually ate chocolates for their sustaining quality; they contained much nutriment in small compass, she said.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The manual compass on these organs seldom extended higher than f2 or g3, though it often went down to GG.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
Later it was extended to F, 30 notes, which is the compass generally found in England.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
This was the point of compass revealed by the astrologer as most favourable to the young candidate for manly honours.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
It is extremely soluble in water, and can be obtained in large transparent prismatic crystals, as in common sugar-candy.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson