great-circle sailing

[ greyt-sur-kuhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Navigation.

sailing between two points more or less according to an arc of a great circle, in practice almost always using a series of rhumb lines of different bearings to approximate the arc, whose own bearing changes constantly unless it coincides with a meridian or the equator.

This is called Great Circle Sailing and will be talked about in more detail later on.

This is not great-circle sailing, and the ship so navigated does not take the shortest path.

Our voyaging is only great-circle sailing, and the doctors prescribe for diseases of the skin merely.

It is by no means improbable that Cabot, who was an expert navigator, knew that great-circle sailing gave the shorter course.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse