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

compass \com"pass\ ku^m"pas, v. t. imp.  p. p. compassed
   ku^m"past; p. pr.  vb. n. compassing. f. compasser,
   ll. compassare.
   1. to go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of.
      1913 webster

            ye shall compass the city seven times. --josh. vi.
                                                  4.
      1913 webster

            we the globe can compass soon.        --shak.
      1913 webster

   2. to inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to
      environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round,
      around, and round about.
      1913 webster

            with terrors and with clamors compassed round.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

            now all the blessings
            of a glad father compass thee about.  --shak.
      1913 webster

            thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and
            compass thee round.                   --luke xix.
                                                  43.
      1913 webster

   3. to reach round; to circumvent; to get within one's power;
      to obtain; to accomplish.
      1913 webster

            if i can check my erring love, i will:
            if not, to compass her i'll use my skill. --shak.
      1913 webster

            how can you hope to compass your designs? --denham.
      1913 webster

   4. to curve; to bend into a circular form. obs. except in
      carpentry and shipbuilding. --shak.
      1913 webster

   5. law to purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot.
      1913 webster

            compassing and imagining the death of the king are
            synonymous terms; compassing signifying the purpose
            or design of the mind or will, and not, as in common
            speech, the carrying such design to effect.
                                                  --blackstone.
      1913 webster
see also:
compassed compassing 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

compass
     n 1: navigational instrument for finding directions
     2: an area in which something acts or operates or has power or
        control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; "the ambit of
        municipal legislation"; "within the compass of this
        article"; "within the scope of an investigation"; "outside
        the reach of the law"; "in the political orbit of a world
        power" syn: scope, range, reach, orbit, ambit
     3: the limit of capability; "within the compass of education"
        syn: range, reach, grasp
     4: drafting instrument used for drawing circles
     v 1: bring about; accomplish; "this writer attempts more than his
          talents can compass"
     2: travel around, either by plane or ship; "we compassed the
        earth" syn: circumnavigate
     3: get the meaning of something; "do you comprehend the meaning
        of this letter?" syn: get the picture, comprehend, savvy,
         dig, grasp, apprehend
see also:
scope range reach orbit ambit grasp 
circumnavigate get the picture comprehend savvy dig 
apprehend 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

377 moby thesaurus words for "compass":
   gyrosin compass, johansson block, rdf, t square, accept,
   accomplish, achieve, acquire, aesthetic distance, alentours,
   ambience, ambit, amount, annex, attain, beleaguer, beset, besiege,
   blockade, border line, borderlands, bound, boundaries, boundary,
   boundary condition, boundary line, bounds, bourn, bourns, box in,
   break boundary, breakoff point, bring off, bring through, cage,
   caliber, calipers, carry, carry off, catch, ceiling, chain,
   chamber, chromatic scale, circle, circuit, circuiteer, circulate,
   circumambiencies, circumambulate, circumference, circumjacencies,
   circummigrate, circumnavigate, circumscription, circumstances,
   circumvent, clearance, close, close in, close the circle,
   come full circle, compass about, comprehend, confine, confines,
   consummate, contain, context, coop, coop in, coop up, coordinates,
   cordon, cordon off, corral, crown with success, cut, cutoff,
   cutoff point, cycle, deadline, deal with, deep space, degree,
   delimitation, depths of space, describe a circle, determinant,
   dial, diapason, dig, dipstick, direction finder, discharge,
   dispatch, dispose of, distance, divergence, dividers,
   division line, do, do the job, do the trick, dodecuple scale,
   domain, edges, effect, effectuate, embay, embosom, embrace, enact,
   encircle, enclasp, enclose, enclosure, encompass, end, enfold,
   enharmonic scale, enshrine, entourage, envelop, environ,
   environing circumstances, environment, environs, enwrap, execute,
   extension, extent, extremity, farness, feeler gauge, fence in,
   fetch, field, finish, flank, floor, foot rule, fringes, frontier,
   fulfill, gain, gamut, gauge block, gestalt, get, get by, gird,
   girdle, girdle the globe, go about, go around, go round,
   go the round, goniometer, grade, gradiometer, graduated scale,
   grasp, great scale, gyre, gyrocompass, gyroscopic compass,
   gyrostatic compass, habitat, have, hedge, hedge in, height, hem,
   hem in, high-water mark, house in, impound, imprison, incarcerate,
   include, inertial navigation system, infinity, interface, interval,
   invest, involve, jail, kennel, knock off, land, lap, leaguer, leap,
   leeway, length, level, light-years, limen, limit, limitation,
   limitations, limiting factor, limits, line, line of demarcation,
   log, log line, loran, low-water mark, lower limit,
   magnetic compass, magnetic needle, major scale, make,
   make a circuit, manage, march, marches, margin, mark, measure,
   melodic minor, mete, meterstick, metes, metes and bounds, mew,
   mew up, micrometer, mileage, milieu, minor scale, needle,
   neighborhood, notch, nuance, obtain, octant, octave scale, orbit,
   outlines, outposts, outskirts, pale, parameters, parsecs, pas, peg,
   pen, pen in, pentatonic scale, perform, perimeter, period,
   periphery, perspective, piece, pitch, plane, plateau, plumb,
   plumb rule, pocket, point, polish off, precincts, procure, produce,
   proportion, protractor, pull off, purlieus, purview, put away,
   put over, put through, quadrant, quarantine, radio compass,
   radio direction finder, radius, rail in, range, ratio, reach,
   realize, register, remoteness, remove, restriction, revolve, ring,
   rod, round, rule, ruler, rung, scale, scope, sector, secure, see,
   separation, set square, sextant, shade, shadow, shoran, shrine,
   shut in, shut up, situation, skirt, skirts, space, span, spectrum,
   sphere, spiral, spirit level, square, stable, stair, standard,
   start, starting line, starting point, step, stint, stretch, stride,
   suburbs, succeed, surround, surroundings, sweep, take care of,
   take in, tape, tape measure, tapeline, target date, temperament,
   term, terminal date, terminus, theodolite, threshold,
   time allotment, total environment, transit, transit theodolite,
   tread, try square, tuning, turn the trick, twig, understand,
   upper limit, verges, vernier, vernier caliper, vicinage, vicinity,
   wall in, way, ways, wheel, whole-tone scale, win, work, work out,
   wrap, yard, yard up, yardstick

[5] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

compass
     
        comprehensive assembler.
     
        the assembly language on cdc computers.
     
        1995-01-19
     
     
see also:
assembly language cdc 

Compass >> C Words
Compass, definition of term: Compass
compass_pag1.html

Compass Point >> C Words
Compass Point, definition of term: Compass Point
compass+point_pag1.html

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