astrolabe

noun

as·​tro·​labe ˈa-strə-ˌlāb 

 also  -ˌlab

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

Illustration of astrolabe

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The Astrolabe and the Stars

"Thyn Astrolabie hath a ring to putten on the thombe of thi right hond in taking the height of thinges." Thus begins a description of the astrolabe in A Treatise on the Astrolabe, a medieval user's guide penned by an amateur astronomer by the name of Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer is best known for his Middle English poetic masterpiece The Canterbury Tales, but when his nose wasn't buried in his writing, Chaucer was stargazing, and some of his passion for the heavens rubbed off on his son Lewis, who had displayed a special "abilite to lerne sciences touching nombres and proporciouns." Chaucer dedicated his treatise to the 10-year-old boy, setting his instructions not in the usual Latin, but in "naked wordes in Englissh" so that little Lewis could understand. When he got older, Lewis may have learned that the word astrolabe traces to the Greek name for the instrument.

Examples of astrolabe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The San Zeno Astrolabe Tracked Time by the Stars The astrolabe was a revolutionary tool for calculating celestial positions and local time. —JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024

Featuring Muslim prayer lines and names, the astrolabe was originally intended to help practitioners of Islam perform their daily prayers. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024

But the Verona astrolabe—one of the oldest ever discovered—uniquely illustrates the tool’s far-reaching influence. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024

Adding to the astrolabe's rarity, Western numerals were also found as corrections etched into the brass device. —Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English astrelabie, astellabre, astyrlabe, borrowed from Anglo-French astrelabe, astrolabre (continental Middle French astrelabe, astrolabe), borrowed from Medieval Latin astrolabium, borrowed from Late Greek astrolábion, re-formation of Greek astrolábos "armillary sphere," from astro- astro- + -labos, derivative in nominal compounds from the aorist stem of lambánein "to take hold of, grasp" — more at latch entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

astrolabe

noun

as·​tro·​labe ˈas-trə-ˌlāb 

: an instrument for observing the positions of heavenly bodies that was used before the sextant was invented