sextant

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sex·tant / ˈsekstənt/ • n. an instrument with a graduated arc of 60° and a sighting mechanism, used for measuring the angular distances between objects and esp. for taking altitudes in navigation.ORIGIN: late 16th cent. (denoting the sixth part of a circle): from Latin sextans, sextant- ‘sixth part,’ from sextus ‘sixth.’

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