almucantar
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
almucantar /ˌalməˈkantə/
▶noun Astronomy
- 1 a circle on the celestial sphere parallel to the horizon.
- 2 a telescope mounted on a float resting on mercury, used to determine stellar altitude and azimuth.
– origin ME: from med. L. almucantarath or obs. Fr. almucantara, from Arab. almuḳanṭarāt ‘lines of celestial latitude’, based on al ‘the’ + ḳanṭara ‘arch’.
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