GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Compass , n. [F. compas, fr. LL. compassus circle, prop., a stepping together; com- + passus pace, step. See Pace, Pass.]
   A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
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   They fetched a compass of seven day's journey.
   2 Kings iii. 9.
   
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   This day I breathed first; time is come round,
   And where I did begin, there shall I end;
   My life is run his compass.
   Shak.
   
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   An inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within the compass of an encircling wall.
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   An inclosed space; an area; extent.
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   Their wisdom . . . lies in a very narrow compass.
   Addison.
   
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   Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of his eye; the compass of imagination.
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   The compass of his argument.
   Wordsworth.
   
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   Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within.
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   In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed.
   Sir J. Davies.
   
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   (Mus.) The range of notes, or tones, within the capacity of a voice or instrument.
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   You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass.
   Shak.
   
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   An instrument for determining directions upon the earth's surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and southerly direction.
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   He that first discovered the use of the compass did more for the supplying and increase of useful commodities than those who built workhouses.
   Locke.
   
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   A pair of compasses. [R.] See Compasses.
   To fix one foot of their compass wherever they please.
   Swift.
   
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   A circle; a continent. [Obs.]
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   The tryne compas [the threefold world containing earth, sea, and heaven. Skeat.]
   Chaucer.
   
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   Azimuth compass. See under Azimuth. -- Beam compass. See under Beam. -- Compass card, the circular card attached to the needles of a mariner's compass, on which are marked the thirty-two points or rhumbs. -- Compass dial, a small pocket compass fitted with a sundial to tell the hour of the day. -- Compass plane (Carp.), a plane, convex in the direction of its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave faces of curved woodwork. -- Compass plant, Compass flower (Bot.), a plant of the American prairies (Silphium laciniatum), not unlike a small sunflower; rosinweed. Its lower and root leaves are vertical, and on the prairies are disposed to present their edges north and south.
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   Its leaves are turned to the north as true as the magnet:
   This is the compass flower.
   Longefellow.
   -- Compass saw, a saw with a narrow blade, which will cut in a curve; -- called also fret saw and keyhole saw. -- Compass timber (Shipbuilding), curved or crooked timber. -- Compass window (Arch.), a circular bay window or oriel window. -- Mariner's compass, a kind of compass used in navigation. It has two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a card, which moves freely upon a pivot, and is read with reference to a mark on the box representing the ship's head. The card is divided into thirty-two points, called also rhumbs, and the glass-covered box or bowl containing it is suspended in gimbals within the binnacle, in order to preserve its horizontal position. -- Surveyor's compass, an instrument used in surveying for measuring horizontal angles. See Circumferentor. -- Variation compass, a compass of delicate construction, used in observations on the variations of the needle. -- To fetch a compass, to make a circuit.
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2.       
   Compass , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Compassed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Compassing.] [F. compasser, LL. compassare.]
   To go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of.
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   Ye shall compass the city seven times.
   Josh. vi. 4.
   
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   We the globe can compass soon.
   Shak.
   
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   To inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round, around, and round about.
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   With terrors and with clamors compassed round.
   Milton.
   
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   Now all the blessings
   Of a glad father compass thee about.
   Shak.
   
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   Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round.
   Luke xix. 43.
   
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   To reach round; to circumvent; to get within one's power; to obtain; to accomplish.
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   If I can check my erring love, I will:
   If not, to compass her I'll use my skill.
   Shak.
   
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   How can you hope to compass your designs?
   Denham.
   
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   To curve; to bend into a circular form. [Obs. except in carpentry and shipbuilding.]
   Shak.
   
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   (Law) To purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot.
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   Compassing and imagining the death of the king are synonymous terms; compassing signifying the purpose or design of the mind or will, and not, as in common speech, the carrying such design to effect.
   Blackstone.
   
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