rhumb
/ɹʌm/ noun
Forms rhumbs
- noun (navigation) A line which crosses successive meridians at a constant angle.
- noun (navigation) Any of the 32 points of the compass.
- noun (navigation) A unit of angular measure equal to 1/32 of a circle or 11.25°.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish rumbo or Portuguese rumo, from Latin rhombus, from Ancient Greek ῥόμβος (rhómbos). Doublet of rhomb and rhombus.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A line which crosses successive meridians at a constant angle; --called also rhumb line, and loxodromic curve. See Loxodromic. To sail on a rhumb, to sail continuously on one course, following a rhumb line.
Etymology [F. rumb, Sp. rumbo, or Pg. rumbo, rumo, probably fr. Gr. Rhomb.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “rhumb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details