sextant

name

1. The constellation Sextans.

noun

Etymology: From Latin sextāns.

1. A navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude.

   “[…] I can do more with a Quadrant, Sextant or Octant, of 1 foot Radius, furniſhed with Teleſcopical Sights and Screws, then ^([sic]) can poſſibly be done with any other Inſtrument, furniſhed only with Common Sights, though 10, 20, 30, nay threeſcore foot Radius; […]”

   “I took our position every morning with my crude sextant; but the results were always most unsatisfactory.”

2. One sixth of a circle or disc; a sector with an angle of 60°.
3. One of six groups of adjacent teeth, excluding the wisdom teeth.
4. A radial cell division of segments in three series, a sixth part of the original.