TERMIUM Plus®

From: Translation Bureau

On social media

Consult the Government of Canada’s terminology data bank.

CROSS-STAFF [4 records]

Filter results by subject field Alphabetical list of terms

Filter results by subject field

Alphabetical list of terms

Record 1 - external organization data 2021-03-18

English

Subject field(s)
  • Compartment – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Museums and Heritage (General)
OBS

cross-staff : an item in the "Surveying and Navigational Tools and Equipment" class of the "Tools and Equipment for Science and Technology" category.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Tiroir – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Muséologie et patrimoine (Généralités)
OBS

équerre d'arpenteur : objet de la classe «Équipement de navigation» de la catégorie «Outillage et équipement pour les sciences et la technologie».

Spanish

Save record 1

Record 2 2004-08-05

English

Subject field(s)
  • Marine and River Navigation Aids
  • River and Sea Navigation
DEF

An instrument once used at sea for taking the altitudes of celestial bodies, especially of the sun.

CONT

Along with revolutions in the design, size, and rigging of ships came improvements in navigational equipment, notably the cross-staff, a 16th-century device that virtually replaced the astrolabe as a means of finding the altitude of a star or the sun and therefore the latitude of the ship.

OBS

Plural: cross-staffs, cross-staves.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Aides à la navigation fluviale et maritime
  • Navigation fluviale et maritime
DEF

Instrument ancien servant à mesurer la hauteur des astres ou du soleil sur l'horizon.

CONT

D'origine arabe, l'arbalète de Jacob fut, avec l'anneau astronomique, un des premiers instruments inventés pour déterminer la latitude et faire le point en mer. Elle était utilisée à la fin de XVème siècle et pendant les grandes découvertes et ne fut abandonnée qu'au XVIIIème siècle. Perfectionnée par l'adjonction de viseurs et d'arcs gradués, elle a conduit au quartier de Davis d'où dérivent l'octant et le sextant.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Ayuda a la navegación marítima y fluvial
  • Navegación fluvial y marítima
Save record 2

Record 3 1999-05-21

English

Subject field(s)
  • Surveying Instruments
DEF

A surveying instrument for laying off offsets perpendicular to the main course and consisting of two pairs of sights at right angles to each other on a staff sharp at the end.

CONT

Equipment and instruments... for 90° angle setting-out and slope measurement : the optical square [prism; cross-staff; box sextant]...

CONT

The cross-staff-This is a long-established instrument but is less precise than the optical square... it consists of a brass box, octagonal in shape, about 75 mm deep and 60 mm broad. Down the centre of each face is cut a slot which contains a fine wire strained vertically. The staff can be fitted on the end of a ranging pole and be erected vertically. More properly, it should be attached to a tripod so that it can be placed exactly over a point on the ground by using a plumb-bob from the head of the tripod.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Instruments d'arpentage
DEF

Prisme octogonal creux percé de fentes (pinnules) servant à tracer des perpendiculaires sur un terrain.

Spanish

Save record 3

Record 4 1986-03-05

English

Subject field(s)
  • Facilities and Instruments (Astronomy)
DEF

A navigational instrument for measuring the altitude of the sun, introduced during the 16th century.

OBS

[This instrument] gained its name because, unlike the cross-staff which it replaced, the user had the sun behind him when taking an observation.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Installations et instruments (Astronomie)
DEF

Instrument ancien de mesure des angles, en particulier des hauteurs, constitué d'une lunette de visée mobile accolée à un grand secteur de 45° très finement divisé, sur lequel on lisait les rotations de la lunette.

Spanish

Save record 4

Copyright notice for the TERMIUM Plus® data bank

© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2026
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
A product of the Translation Bureau

Display options

Change the order of display of the official languages of Canada
Option to display the non-official languages (Spanish or Portuguese)
Display definitions, contexts, etc., on records

Features

GCtranslate (available on the Government of Canada network only)

Use this artificial intelligence prototype to translate Government of Canada content up to and including Protected B. Available to employees of selected departments and agencies only.

Writing tools

The Language Portal’s writing tools have a new look! Easy to consult, they give you access to a wealth of information that will help you write better in English and French.

Glossaries and vocabularies

Access Translation Bureau glossaries and vocabularies.

Date Modified: