Quadrant
['kwɒdr(ə)nt] or ['kwɑdrənt]
Definition
(noun.) a measuring instrument for measuring altitude of heavenly bodies.
(noun.) the area enclosed by two perpendicular radii of a circle.
(noun.) any of the four areas into which a plane is divided by two orthogonal coordinate axes.
(noun.) a quarter of the circumference of a circle.
Inputed by Hubert--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The fourth part; the quarter.
(n.) The quarter of a circle, or of the circumference of a circle, an arc of 90¡, or one subtending a right angle at the center.
(n.) One of the four parts into which a plane is divided by the coordinate axes. The upper right-hand part is the first quadrant; the upper left-hand part the second; the lower left-hand part the third; and the lower right-hand part the fourth quadrant.
(n.) An instrument for measuring altitudes, variously constructed and mounted for different specific uses in astronomy, surveying, gunnery, etc., consisting commonly of a graduated arc of 90¡, with an index or vernier, and either plain or telescopic sights, and usually having a plumb line or spirit level for fixing the vertical or horizontal direction.
Typed by Eugenia
Definition
n. (geom.) the fourth part of a circle or an arc of 90? an instrument used in astronomy for the determination of angular measurements: an instrument of navigation for measuring the altitude of the sun.—adj. Quadrant′al pertaining to equal to or included in a quadrant.
Inputed by Harvey
Examples
- Before 1597 he had completed his great mural quadrant at the observatory of Uraniborg. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- A little higher on A will be seen a quadrant B (see plan) near the edge of which are set 13 little pins. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Thomas Godfrey, a self-taught mathematician, great in his way, and afterward inventor of what is now called _Hadley's Quadrant_. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- He called it wi th characteristic vanity the Tichonic quadrant. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The quadrant, B, has cogs cut, between which Z slides and stops the motion of A, which is moved, as before, by clockwork. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- The place is stored with great variety of sextants, quadrants, telescopes, astrolabes, and other astronomical instruments. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
Typist: Silvia