astrolabe Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an early form of sextant

WordNet

As"tro*labe noun
Etymology
OE. astrolabie, astrilabe, OF. astrelabe, F. astrolabe, LL. astrolabium, fr. Gr. star + , , to take.
Definitions
  1. (Astron.) An instrument for observing or showing the positions of the stars. It is now disused. ✍ Among the ancients, it was essentially the armillary sphere. A graduated circle with sights, for taking altitudes at sea, was called an astrolabe in the 18th century. It is now superseded by the quadrant and sextant.
  2. A stereographic projection of the sphere on the plane of a great circle, as the equator, or a meridian; a planisphere. Whewell.

Webster 1913