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prettygoodwordrhumb (RUHM, RUHMB) - (navigation) n., a line crossing successive meridians at a constant angle, the path taken by a ship or plane that maintains a constant compass direction; one of the 32 points of the compass.
The first sense is also called rhumb line and loxodrome, and the path looks like this:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Contrast with a great circle, the largest possible straight-line path around the earth, which involves a constantly changing angle (unless you're following the equator). First recorded in the 1570s, from either Spanish rumbo or Portuguese rumo, both from Latin rhombus, same meaning as English rhombus, from Ancient Greek rhómbos, rhombus/spinning top, from rhémbō, turn around/turn in circles, from PIE *wremb-/*werb- turn/twist/bend.
---L.
The first sense is also called rhumb line and loxodrome, and the path looks like this:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Contrast with a great circle, the largest possible straight-line path around the earth, which involves a constantly changing angle (unless you're following the equator). First recorded in the 1570s, from either Spanish rumbo or Portuguese rumo, both from Latin rhombus, same meaning as English rhombus, from Ancient Greek rhómbos, rhombus/spinning top, from rhémbō, turn around/turn in circles, from PIE *wremb-/*werb- turn/twist/bend.
---L.
