circinus
circinus, pair of compasses
- = κίρκινος, a pair of compasses: flumen Dubis, ut circino circumductum, paene totum oppidum cingit, Caes. B. G. 1, 38: diducere, Vitr. 9, 7, 2: circino spatia dimetiri, id ib.; id. 10, 4, 1: ratio circini, Plin. 2, 15, 13, § 63.
circinno,gabulrond
circinnus,gafelrod
~um,mæltange
acquirere studuit cementarios, qui ‥ triangulo ternario atque ~o scirent ‥ monasterii fundamenta exordiri
cum liquor semper appetit porcionem circuli qui causatur ex ~o, cujus pes fixus foret in centro et pes mobilis transiret per circumferenciam talis aque
~us,a compas
femineum plene si vis formare decorem, / preformet capiti nature circinus orbem
circinus interior mentis precircinet omne / materie spatium
pilarii ‥ sex in circuitu erant ad ~um positi
laboriosum hoc iter arripuimus tanquam in ~o circueundo
~um frontis ecclesie ab angulo ad angulum occupabant ‥ milites
nec ullus eorum annalem orbite ~um combinavit
- , κίρκινος, a pair of compasses: flumen Dubis, ut circino circumductum, Cs.
CIR´CINUS(διαβήτης: καρκίνος, Sext. Emp. M. 10.54; Anth. P. 6.295), a compass. The compass used by statuaries, architects, masons, and carpenters, is often represented on the tombs of such artificers, together with the other instruments of their profession or trade. The annexed woodcut is copied from a tomb found at Rome. (Gruter, Corp. Inscript. t. i. part 2. p. 644.) It exhibits two kinds of compasses: viz. the common kind used for drawing circles and measuring distances, and one with curved legs, probably intended to measure the thickness of columns, cylindrical pieces of wood, or similar objects. The common kind is described by the Scholiast on Aristophanes (Nub. 178), who compares its form to that of the letter A. [See cut under NORMA] The an ancient invention, being attributed to Perdix, the nephew of Daedalus, who through envy threw him over the precipice of the Athenian acropolis (Ov. Met. 8.241), or to Daedalus himself (Diod. Sic. 4.76), but it must be observed that circles in early works of art are obviously traced without its aid. It is doubtful whether the τόρνος (Theogn. 805; Hdt. 4.36; Plat. Phileb. 56 B; Eur. Bacch. 1066; Hesych.) was a pair of compasses or a more primitive device for drawing a circle, consisting of a pin at the end of a string.
[J.Y] [J.H.F](καρκίνος, διαβήτης). A compass. The compass used by statuaries, architects, masons, and carpenters is often represented on the tombs of such artificers, together with the other instruments of their profession or trade. The annexed illustration exhibits two kinds of compasses, viz., the common kind used for drawing circles and measuring distances, and one with curved legs, probably intended to measure the thickness of columns, cylindrical pieces of wood, or similar objects. The common kind is described by the scholiast on Aristophanes, who compares its form with that of the letter A. The mythologists supposed this instrument to have been invented by Perdix, who was the nephew of Daedalus, and, through envy, thrown by him over the precipice of the Athenian Acropolis (Ovid, Met. viii. 251). Compasses of various forms were discovered in a statuary's house at Pompeii.