ALMUCANTARS

Noun

almucantars

plural of almucantar

Source: Wiktionary


ALMUCANTAR

Al`mu*can"tar, n. Etym: [F. almucantarat, almicantarat, ultimately fr. Ar. al-muqantarat, pl., fr. qantara to bend, arch.] (Astron.)

Definition: A small circle of the sphere parallel to the horizon; a circle or parallel of altitude. Two stars which have the same almucantar have the same altitude. See Almacantar. [Archaic] Almucanter staff, an ancient instrument, having an arc of fifteen degrees, formerly used at sea to take observations of the sun's amplitude at the time of its rising or setting, to find the variation of the compass.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 June 2025

DETENTION

(noun) a state of being confined (usually for a short time); “his detention was politically motivated”; “the prisoner is on hold”; “he is in the custody of police”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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