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Definition of "astrolabe" []

  • A medieval instrument, now replaced by the sextant, that was once used to determine the altitude of the sun or other celestial bodies. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "astrolabe" in a sentence
  • "The other instrument, called the astrolabe, was a brass circle marked off into 360 degrees."
  • "In the latter there is one of the oldest examples of the figures then found almost invariably on the reverse of the so-called astrolabe, a graduated quadrant with the help of which one could obtain the different hours of the day from the observation of the sun's height."
  • "They set out to find a second youth -- the dream of immortality -- with the astrolabe, which is the creed or Koran all take as their guide."