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Showing results for forestaff. Search instead for forestaffs.

forestaff

American  
[fawr-staf, -stahf, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌstæf, -ˌstɑf, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

plural

forestaves, forestaffs

  1. cross-staff.

Etymology

Origin of forestaff

First recorded in 1660–70; fore- + staff 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Here also our gunner took an observation with his forestaff, to determine our latitude, and he found now, that having marched about thirty-three days northward, we were in 6 degrees 22 minutes south latitude.

From The Life, Adventures & Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton by Defoe, Daniel

The pilots were all Indians, and they used the forestaff and quadrant for their observations.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 7 "Columbus" to "Condottiere" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.