archipendulum

English

Etymology

From archi- +‎ pendulum.

Noun

archipendulum (plural archipendulums or archipendula)

  1. An ancient device used to measure angles, consisting of an A-shaped device with a plumbline attached to the top vertex and a mark on the midpoint of the crossbar.
    • 1735, John Barrow, Dictionarium Polygraphicum:
      ETHICKS is represented in painting by a lady of a sober, grave aspect, holding the instrument archipendulum in one hand, with the other a lion bridled.
    • 2010, Kim Williams, Lionel March, Stephen R. Wassell, The Mathematical Works of Leon Battista Alberti, page 107:
      Alberti's equilibra, which he uses first for the levelling of water and later for the weighing of small objects, is really a makeshift archipendulum.
    • 2021, Richard de Grasse, The Influence of Stonehenge on Minoan Navigation and Trade in Europe, page 59:
      The altitude/angle of Polaris could be measured by either the cross-staff aboard a vessel at sea, or an archipendulum on shore at a stone circle megalith.
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