Gunter's scale

Gunter's scale
Gunter's scale Gun"ter's scale` A scale invented by the Rev. Edmund Gunter (1581-1626), a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, who invented also {Gunter's chain}, and {Gunter's quadrant}. [1913 Webster]

Note: Gunter's scale is a wooden rule, two feet long, on one side of which are marked scales of equal parts, of chords, sines, tangents, rhombs, etc., and on the other side scales of logarithms of these various parts, by means of which many problems in surveying and navigation may be solved, mechanically, by the aid of dividers alone. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Gunter's scale — noun A scale graduated in several lines for numbers, logarithmic sines, etc, so arranged that trigonometrical problems can be roughly solved by use of a pair of compasses, or in another form by sliding • • • Main Entry: ↑gunter * * * Gunter s… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Scale — Scale, n. [L. scalae, pl., scala staircase, ladder; akin to scandere to climb. See {Scan}; cf. {Escalade}.] 1. A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. Hence, anything graduated, especially when employed as a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Scale of chords — Scale Scale, n. [L. scalae, pl., scala staircase, ladder; akin to scandere to climb. See {Scan}; cf. {Escalade}.] 1. A ladder; a series of steps; a means of ascending. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. Hence, anything graduated, especially when employed… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gunter's chain — Gun ter s chain (Surveying) The chain ordinarily used in measuring land. See {Chain}, n., 4, and {Gunter s scale}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gunter's line — Gun ter s line A logarithmic line on Gunter s scale, used for performing the multiplication and division of numbers mechanically by the dividers; called also {line of lines}, and {line of numbers}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gunter's quadrant — Gun ter s quad rant A thin quadrant, made of brass, wood, etc., showing a stereographic projection on the plane of the equator. By it are found the hour of the day, the sun s azimuth, the altitude of objects in degrees, etc. See {Gunter s scale} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gunter, Edmund — ▪ English mathematician born 1581, Hertfordshire, Eng. died Dec. 10, 1626, London       English mathematician who invented many useful measuring devices, including a forerunner of the slide rule.       Gunter was professor of astronomy at Gresham …   Universalium

  • GUNTER, EDMUND —    mathematician, born in Hertfordshire; was educated at Oxford for the Church, but his natural bent was towards mathematical science, and in 1619 he became professor of Astronomy in Gresham College, London, a position he held till his death; his …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Gunter's chain — is a measuring device used for land survey. It was designed and introduced in 1620 by English clergyman and mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1626) long before the development of the theodolite and other more sophisticated equipment, enabling… …   Wikipedia

  • Gunter's quadrant — Quadrant Quad rant, n. [L. quadrans, antis, a fourth part, a fourth of a whole, fr. quattuor four: cf. F. quadrant, cadran. See {Four}, and cf. {Cadrans}.] 1. The fourth part; the quarter. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. (Geom.) The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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