Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Astrolabe |
AstrolabeNoun1. An early form of sextant. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "astrolabe" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Aerospace | 1. In general, any instrument designed to measure the altitudes of celestial bodies.2. Specifically, an instrument designed for very accurate celestial altitude measurements, as in survey work. (references) |
Geography | An instrument used for taking astronomical sights. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
From the 16th century to the 18th century (when the sextant was invented) the astrolabe was the chief
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An astrolabe consists of a circle marked in degrees (similar to a protractor) with a rotating arm attached at its center. When the 0° mark on the circle is aligned with the horizon, and a star (or other celestial body) "sighted" at the end of the movable arm, the position (in degrees) of the star can be read ("taken") off the calibrated circle (hence, "astro" = star + "labe" = to take).
On the plate (mater) are engraved coordinate lines which represent a stereographic projection of the celestial sphere (climate), valid for places at a specific geographic latitude. Over this coordinate grid rotates the rete, which is a framework with spikes whose points represent fixed stars. After adjusting the instrument for the current time, the position of a star can be read from the coordinate grid. Conversely, the instrument can be adjusted to fit the measured position, and the time can be read off the scale.
The astrolabe therefore is a predecessor of the modern planisphere.
The astrolabe was probably invented by Hipparchus, and developed further in the Islamic world, before reaching Europe in about the 14th century. The English author Geoffrey Chaucer (~1343 - 1400) wrote a treatise on the astrolabe for his son. In the 15th century, the French instrument-maker Jean Fusoris (~1365 - 1436) started selling them in his shop in Paris, along with portable sundials and other popular scientific gadgets of the day.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Astrolabe."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Measurement | Astrolabe, armillary sphere. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Astrolabe |
| English words defined with "astrolabe": Cosmolabe ♦ Hypatia ♦ Meteoroscope, Moder ♦ Pinule. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | In: "Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Oceanie ....." by the French ships ASTROLABE and ZELEE under the command of Dumont D'Urville. Library Call Number Q115 .D9 1842. Credit: Treasures of the Library. |  | Frontispiece to: "Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Oceanie ....." by the French ships ASTROLABE and ZELEE under the command of Dumont D'Urville. Library Call Number Q115 .D9 1842. Credit: Treasures of the Library. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| "Astrolabe" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Astrolabe" is used about 16 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 16 | 87,710 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
astrolabe | 118 |
astrolabe picture | 4 |
astrolabe l | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "astrolabe"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | астролабия. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | astrolabium, astrolab. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | astrolabium. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | astrolabi. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | astrolabe. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Sternhöhenmesser (astrolabes). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | αστρολάβοσ, αστρολάβος. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | asztrolábium, csillag-magasságmérõ, csillagmagasságmérő. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | astrolabio. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | slat rollageagh. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | astrolabeay astrolábio, astrol bio. (various references) астролябия. (various references) astrolab. (various references) astrolabio. (various references) usturlap. (various references) астролябія. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | astrolabos. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "astrolabe": astrolabes. (additional references) | |
| |
"Astrolabe" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: astolabe, astrilabe, astroblabe, Astrogaze, Astroglide, astrolab, astrolable, astrolobe. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "astrolabe" (pronounced 'As"tro*labe'): Cosmolabe, Mesolabe, Syllabe. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-b-e-l-o-r-s-t" | |
-1 letter: arbalest, bloaters, sortable, storable. | |
-2 letters: abaters, abators, ablates, abreast, aerosat, alastor, arables, areolas, blaster, bloater, boaster, boatels, boaters, bolster, bolters, borates, borstal, labrets, lobster, oblates, rabatos, ratable, rebatos, sorbate, stabler. | |
-3 letters: abaser, abater, abates, abator, ablate, ablest, aboral, aborts, alates, alerts, altars, alters, aortae, aortal, aortas, arable, areola, artels, astral, balers, barest, basalt. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-b-e-l-o-r-s-t" | |
+1 letter: astrolabes, elaborates, sailboater. | |
+2 letters: albatrosses, bardolaters, portabellas, sailboaters, treasonable, treasonably. | |
+3 letters: ambulatories, bardolatries, biomaterials, carboxylates, collaborates, contrastable, elaborations, forecastable, laboratories, labradorites, plasterboard, secobarbital, transposable. | |
+4 letters: abnormalities, adorabilities, blepharoplast, elaborateness, hexobarbitals, neuroblastoma, observational, perambulators, plasterboards, reasonability, roadabilities, secobarbitals, transformable, transportable. | |
+5 letters: blepharoplasts, blepharoplasty, campylobacters, collaboratives, constabularies, decarboxylates, neuroblastomas, overelaborates, particleboards, pentobarbitals, perambulations, phenobarbitals, polycarbonates, recalibrations, rehabilitators, retinoblastoma, subproletariat, verbalizations. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Slideshow | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions: Internet 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Translations: Ancient 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
