compas

See also: compás and compàs

English

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

compas (uncountable)

1. (music) A form of string music from Haiti

Anagrams

• campos, mocaps, scampo

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French compas, from Latin com- + passus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.pa/ ~ /kɔ̃.pɑ/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

compas m (invariable)

1. pair of compasses
2. (nautical, aviation) magnetic compass
3. (music) a genre of modern Haitian music descended from the traditional style méringue

Derived terms

• avoir le compas dans l'œil

Descendants

• → Portuguese: compasso
• → Burmese: ကွန်ပါ (kwanpa)
• → Romanian: compas

Further reading

• “compas”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Middle English

Alternative forms

• compace, compase, compass, compasse, cumpas, cumpasse

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French compas, from Medieval Latin compassus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkumpas/, /kumˈpas/, /kumˈpaːs/

Noun

compas (plural compasses)

1. Guile, craft or an instance of it; the use of skill or sleight-of hand:
2. A scheme or plan, especially one formulated secretly or maliciously.
3. A boundary or edge; that which surrounds:
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[1], published c. 1410, Apocalips 4:4, folio 118, verso, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     ⁊ in þe cumpas of þe ſeete.· weren foure ⁊ twentı ſmale ſeetıs ⁊ abouen þe troones foure ⁊ twentı eldere men ſıttynge. hılıd aboute wıþ whıte cloþıs.· ⁊ in þe heedıs of hem golden coꝛouns

     And around the perimeter of the seat there were twenty-four small seats, and on those seats twenty-four elders sat, wearing white clothing and having golden crowns on their heads.

   1. A rounded shape (i.e. a circle, curve or sphere) or a region surrounded by one.
   2. An area or region; bounded space.
4. The size or extent of something.
5. A compass (circle-drawing tool)
6. (rare) Thedesign of a piece of craftsmanship.

Related terms

• compassen
• compassement
• compassynge
• encompassen

Descendants

• English: compass

References

• “cǒmpā̆s, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 22 January 2019.

Adverb

compas (rare)

1. Following or having a circular boundary.

Descendants

• English: compass (obsolete as an adverb)

References

• “cǒmpā̆s, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 22 January 2019.

Norman

Alternative forms

• coumpas (continental Normandy)
• kõpaa (Sark)

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (Jersey):

  (file)

Noun

compas m (plural compas)

1. (Jersey) compass, dividers

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French compas.

Noun

compas n (plural compasuri)

1. pair of compasses

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	compas	compasul	compasuri	compasurile
genitive-dative	compas	compasului	compasuri	compasurilor
vocative	compasule		compasurilor

Spanish

Noun

compas m pl

1. plural of compa