[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

compass \com"pass\ ku^m"pas, n. f. compas, fr. ll.
   compassus circle, prop., a stepping together; com- + passus
   pace, step. see pace, pass.
   1. a passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
      1913 webster

            they fetched a compass of seven day's journey. --2
                                                  kings iii. 9.
      1913 webster

            this day i breathed first; time is come round,
            and where i did begin, there shall i end;
            my life is run his compass.           --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. an inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within
      the compass of an encircling wall.
      1913 webster

   3. an inclosed space; an area; extent.
      1913 webster

            their wisdom . . . lies in a very narrow compass.
                                                  --addison.
      1913 webster

   4. extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of
      his eye; the compass of imagination.
      1913 webster

            the compass of his argument.          --wordsworth.
      1913 webster

   5. moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits;
      -- used with within.
      1913 webster

            in two hundred years before i speak within
            compass, no such commission had been executed.
                                                  --sir j.
                                                  davies.
      1913 webster

   6. mus. the range of notes, or tones, within the capacity
      of a voice or instrument.
      1913 webster

            you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of
            my compass.                           --shak.
      1913 webster

   7. an instrument for determining directions upon the earth's
      surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning
      freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and
      southerly direction.
      1913 webster

            he that first discovered the use of the compass did
            more for the supplying and increase of useful
            commodities than those who built workhouses.
                                                  --locke.
      1913 webster

   8. a pair of compasses. r. see compasses.

            to fix one foot of their compass wherever they
            please.                               --swift.
      1913 webster

   9. a circle; a continent. obs.
      1913 webster

            the tryne compas the threefold world containing
            earth, sea, and heaven. --skeat.     --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   azimuth compass. see under azimuth.

   beam compass. see under beam.

   compass card, the circular card attached to the needles of
      a mariner's compass, on which are marked the thirty-two
      points or rhumbs.

   compass dial, a small pocket compass fitted with a sundial
      to tell the hour of the day.

   compass plane carp., a plane, convex in the direction of
      its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave
      faces of curved woodwork.

   compass plant, compass flower bot., a plant of the
      american prairies silphium laciniatum, not unlike a
      small sunflower; rosinweed. its lower and root leaves are
      vertical, and on the prairies are disposed to present
      their edges north and south.
      1913 webster

            its leaves are turned to the north as true as the
            magnet:
            this is the compass flower.           --longefellow.

   compass saw, a saw with a narrow blade, which will cut in a
      curve; -- called also fret saw and keyhole saw.

   compass timber shipbuilding, curved or crooked timber.

   compass window arch., a circular bay window or oriel
      window.

   mariner's compass, a kind of compass used in navigation. it
      has two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a
      card, which moves freely upon a pivot, and is read with
      reference to a mark on the box representing the ship's
      head. the card is divided into thirty-two points, called
      also rhumbs, and the glass-covered box or bowl containing
      it is suspended in gimbals within the binnacle, in order
      to preserve its horizontal position.

   surveyor's compass, an instrument used in surveying for
      measuring horizontal angles. see circumferentor.

   variation compass, a compass of delicate construction, used
      in observations on the variations of the needle.

   to fetch a compass, to make a circuit.
      1913 webster
see also:
pace pass compasses. azimuth compass azimuth beam compass 
beam compass card compass dial compass plane compass plant 
compass flower silphium laciniatum compass saw fret saw keyhole saw 
compass timber compass window mariner's compass surveyor's compass circumferentor 
variation compass to fetch a compass 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

compass card
     n : compass in the form of a card that rotates so that 0 degrees
         or north points to magnetic north syn: mariner's
         compass
see also:
mariner's compass 

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