Main Entry: as·tro·labe

Pronunciation: \ˈas-trə-ˌlāb also -ˌlab\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French astrelabe, from Medieval Latin astrolabium, from Late Greek astrolabion, from Greek astrolabos, from astr- + lambanein to take — more at latch

Date: 14th century

: a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant

[astrolabe illustration]