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Entry 14 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Compass

/(kŭm"pas)/ · Com·pass · IPA /ˈkʌmpəs/
01 n. A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
  1. 1.
    A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
    “They fetched a compass of seven day's journey.” — 2 Kings iii. 9.
    “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.
  2. 2.
    An inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within the compass of an encircling wall.
  3. 3.
    An inclosed space; an area; extent.
    “Their wisdom . . . lies in a very narrow compass.” — Addison.
  4. 4.
    Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of his eye; the compass of imagination.
    “The compass of his argument.” — Wordsworth.
  5. 5.
    Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within.
    “In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed.” — Sir J. Davies.
  6. 6.
    The range of notes, or tones, within the capacity of a voice or instrument.(Mus.)
    “You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass.” — Shak.
  7. 7.
    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.
    “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.
  8. 8.
    A pair of compasses.[R.]
    “To fix one foot of their compass wherever they please.” — Swift.
  9. 9.
    A circle; a continent.[Obs.]
    “The tryne compas [the threefold world containing earth, sea, and heaven. Skeat.]” — Chaucer.
    “Its leaves are turned to the north as true as the magnet: This is the compass flower.” — Longefellow.
Phrases & compounds
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 — a plane, convex in the direction of its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave faces of curved woodwork.
Compass plant — 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.
02 v. t. To go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of.
imp. & p. p. Compassed; p. pr. & vb. n. Compassing
  1. 1.
    To go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of.
    “Ye shall compass the city seven times.” — Josh. vi. 4.
    “We the globe can compass soon.” — Shak.
  2. 2.
    To inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round, around, and round about.
    “With terrors and with clamors compassed round.” — Milton.
    “Now all the blessings Of a glad father compass thee about.” — Shak.
    “Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round.” — Luke xix. 43.
  3. 3.
    To reach round; to circumvent; to get within one's power; to obtain; to accomplish.
    “If I can check my erring love, I will: If not, to compass her I'll use my skill.” — Shak.
    “How can you hope to compass your designs?” — Denham.
  4. 4.
    To curve; to bend into a circular form.[Obs. except in carpentry and shipbuilding.]
  5. 5.
    To purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot.(Law)
    “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.