Meaning & use
Circumferentor
Last updated
A historical surveying instrument consisting of a compass mounted on a graduated circular plate, used to measure horizontal angles.
See it in a sentence
Colonial surveyors relied on the circumferentor to map property boundaries before modern instruments existed.
A well-preserved circumferentor from the 1700s is on display in the museum's science wing.
A note on using this word
The name combines 'circumference' with the agent suffix '-or'; the instrument was widely used from the 16th through 19th centuries before being replaced by the theodolite.
Words with a similar meaning
surveyor's compass
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