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ALMUCANTARS

Volume 1 · 117 words · 1823 Edition

in Astronomy, an Arabic word denoting circles of the sphere passing through the centre of the sun or a star, parallel to the horizon, being the same as PARALLELS of Altitude.

Almucantar's Staff, is an instrument usually made of pear tree or box, having an arch of 15 degrees; used to take observations of the sun, about the time of its rising and setting, in order to find the amplitude, and consequently the variation of the compass.

ALMUCIUM denotes a kind of cover for the head, worn chiefly by monks and ecclesiastics. It was of a square form, and seems to have given rise to the bonnets of the same shape still retained in universities and cathedrals.