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octant |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Octant \Oc"tant\, n. [L. octans, -antis. fr octo eight See {Octave}.] 1. (Geom.) The eighth part of a circle; an arc of 45 degrees. 2. (Astron. & Astrol.) The position or aspect of a heavenly body, as the moon or a planet, when half way between conjunction, or opposition, and quadrature, or distant from another body 45 degrees. 3. An instrument for measuring angles (generally called a quadrant), having an arc which measures up to 9O[deg], but being itself the eighth part of a circle. Cf {Sextant}. 4. (Math. & Crystallog.) One of the eight parts into which a space is divided by three co["o]rdinate planes. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: octant n : an instrument for measuring angles to a celestial body; similar to a sextant but with 45 degree calibration
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