Sextan vs Sextant - What's the difference?

sextan | sextant |


As nouns the difference between sextan and sextant

is that sextan is such a fever while sextant is a navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude.

As an adjective sextan

is that recurs on the sixth day.

As a proper noun Sextant is

the constellation Sextans.

sextan

English

Adjective

(-)
  • (obsolete, medicine) That recurs on the sixth day

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete, medicine) Such a fever

    • Anagrams

    *

    sextant

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) A navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude.
  • * 1918 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), Chapter IV
    • For several days things went along in about the same course. I took our position every morning with my crude sextant ; but the results were always most unsatisfactory. They always showed a considerable westing when I knew that we had been sailing due north. I blamed my crude instrument, and kept on.
  • (geometry) One sixth of a circle or disc; a sector with an angle of 60°.

    • See also

    * octant * quadrant * ----