Word: Astrolabe

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

astrolabe

noun

[A-struh-layb]

a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant

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This was Webster's word of the day for 23 Jan and it came to my attention for the Chaucer quote:

“Thyn Astrolabie hath a ring to putten on the thombe of thi right hond in taking the height of thinges.” A Treatise on the Astrolabe by Geoffery Chaucer. I heard it in the voice Martin Jarvis uses to narrate Good Omens, especially the parts of Agnes Nutter's predictions.

Comments

[dine]

I've always been fascinated by astrolabes - they look way cool, and are actually such a helpful bit of tech