different between compass vs span
compass
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: k?m?p?s, IPA(key): /?k?m.p?s/
- Rhymes: -?mp?s
Etymology 1
From Middle English compas (“a circle, circuit, limit, form, a mathematical instrument”), from Old French compas, from Medieval Latin compassus (“a circle, a circuit”), from Latin com- (“together”) + passus (“a pace, step, later a pass, way, route”); see pass, pace.
Noun
compass (plural compasses)
- A magnetic or electronic device used to determine the cardinal directions (usually magnetic or true north).
- 1689/1690, John Locke, On improvement of understanding
- He that [...] first discovered the use of the compass [...] did more for the propagation of knowledge [...] than those who built workhouses.
- 1890, Wilhelm Westhofen, The Forth Bridge
- a glance at his compass would have shown him that a northerly course instead of an easterly could not be right
- 1689/1690, John Locke, On improvement of understanding
- A pair of compasses (a device used to draw an arc or circle).
- 1701, Jonathan Swift, A Discourse of the Contests and Dissensions between the Nobles and the Commons in Athens and Rome, Chapter 5
- to fix one foot of their compass wherever they please
- 1701, Jonathan Swift, A Discourse of the Contests and Dissensions between the Nobles and the Commons in Athens and Rome, Chapter 5
- (music) The range of notes of a musical instrument or voice.
- (obsolete) A space within limits; an area.
- 1763, M. Le Page Du Pratz, History of Louisiana (PG), page 47:
- In going up the Missisippi [sic], we meet with nothing remarkable before we come to the Detour aux Anglois, the English Reach: in that part the river takes a large compass.
- 1711, Joseph Addison, The Spectator
- Animals, in their generation, are wiser than the sons of men but their wisdom is confined to a few particulars, and lies in a very narrow compass.
- 1913, D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 14
- Clara thought she had never seen him look so small and mean. He was as if trying to get himself into the smallest possible compass.
- 1763, M. Le Page Du Pratz, History of Louisiana (PG), page 47:
- (obsolete) An enclosing limit; a boundary, a circumference.
- Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; used with within.
- c. 1610, John Davies, Historical Tracts
- In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed.
- c. 1610, John Davies, Historical Tracts
- (archaic) scope.
- 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion Book 8
- the compass of his argument
- 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral, Oxford University Press (1973), section 8:
- There is a truth and falsehood in all propositions on this subject, and a truth and falsehood, which lie not beyond the compass of human understanding.
- 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, Marginalia
- How very commonly we hear it remarked that such and such thoughts are beyond the compass of words! I do not believe that any thought, properly so called, is out of the reach of language.
- 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion Book 8
- (obsolete) A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
- 1611, King James Version, 2 Kings iii. 9
- They fetched a compass of seven days' journey.
- 1611, King James Version, 2 Kings iii. 9
Synonyms
- (magnetic direction finder): magnetic compass
- (device used to draw circular curves): pair of compasses
Hyponyms
- (pair of compasses): beam compass
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English compassen (“to go around, make a circuit, draw a circle, contrive, intend”), from Old French compasser; from the noun; see compass as a noun.
Verb
compass (third-person singular simple present compasses, present participle compassing, simple past and past participle compassed)
- To surround; to encircle; to environ; to stretch round.
- 1610, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, act 5 scene 1
- Now all the blessings
- Of a glad father compass thee about!
- And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
- 1610, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, act 5 scene 1
- To go about or round entirely; to traverse.
- (dated) To accomplish; to reach; to achieve; to obtain.
- 1763, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emilius; or, an essay on education, translated by M. Nugent, page 117:
- [...] they never find ways sufficient to compass that end.
- 1816, Catholicon: or, the Christian Philosopher, volume 3, from July to December 1816, page 56:
- [...] to settle the end of our action or disputation; and then to take fit and effectual means to compass that end.
- 1921 November 23, The New Republic, volume 28, number 364, page 2:
- The immediate problem is how to compass that end: by the seizure of territory or by the cultivation of the goodwill of the people whose business she seeks.
- 1763, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emilius; or, an essay on education, translated by M. Nugent, page 117:
- (dated) To plot; to scheme (against someone).
- 1600, The Arraignment and Judgement of Captain Thomas Lee, published in 1809, by R. Bagshaw, in Cobbett's Complete Collection of State Trials, volume 1, page 1403–04:
- That he plotted and compassed to raise Sedition and Rebellion [...]
- 1794 November 1, Speech of Mr. Erskine in Behalf of Hardy, published in 1884, by Chauncey Allen Goodrich, in Select British Eloquence, page 719:
- But it went beyond it by the loose construction of compassing to depose the King, [...]
- 1915, The Wireless Age, volume 2, page 580:
- The Bavarian felt a mad wave of desire for her sweep over him. What scheme wouldn't he compass to mould that girl to his wishes.
- 1600, The Arraignment and Judgement of Captain Thomas Lee, published in 1809, by R. Bagshaw, in Cobbett's Complete Collection of State Trials, volume 1, page 1403–04:
Synonyms
- (surround): encircle, environ, surround
- (go about or around entirely): cover, traverse
- (accomplish): accomplish, achieve, attain, gain, get to, reach
- (plot (against someone)): conspire, plot, scheme
Translations
Adverb
compass (comparative more compass, superlative most compass)
- (obsolete) In a circuit; round about.
- 1658, Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial,[1] Penguin (2005), ?ISBN, page 9:
- Near the same plot of ground, for about six yards compasse were digged up coals and incinerated substances, […]
- 1658, Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial,[1] Penguin (2005), ?ISBN, page 9:
References
- compass in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- compass in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Middle English
Noun
compass
- Alternative form of compas
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span
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English spanne, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann? (“span, handbreadth”). Cognate with Dutch span, spanne, German Spanne. The sense “pair of horses” is probably from Old English ?espan, ?espann (“a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]. Cognate with Dutch gespan, German Gespann.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American)
- IPA(key): /spæn/
- Rhymes: -æn
- (Australian English)
- IPA(key): /spæ?n/
- Rhymes: -æ?n
Noun
span (plural spans)
- The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.
- (by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.
- 1699, George Farquhar, The Constant Couple
- Life's but a span; I'll every inch enjoy.
- 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence.
- The unsilent present is a time of evaporating attention spans,
- 1699, George Farquhar, The Constant Couple
- A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
- 2004, Robert Harris, Robert Warner, The Definitive Guide to SWT and JFace (page 759)
- For example, in OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Word, each span of text can have a style that defines key characteristics about the text: • What font it uses • Whether it's normal, bolded, italicized, […]
- 2004, Robert Harris, Robert Warner, The Definitive Guide to SWT and JFace (page 759)
- (architecture, construction) The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.
- (architecture, construction) The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.
- (nautical) A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.
- (US, Canada) A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.
- (mathematics) The space of all linear combinations of something.
- (computing) The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors, i.e. the shortest distance across a directed acyclic graph representing the computation steps.
Derived terms
- attention span
- eyespan
- memory span
- spanless
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannan? (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) and GenAm
- IPA(key): /spæn/
- Rhymes: -æn
- AusE
- IPA(key): /spæ?n/
- Rhymes: -æ?n
Verb
span (third-person singular simple present spans, present participle spanning, simple past and past participle spanned)
- (transitive) To extend through the distance between or across.
- The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.
- 1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip II
- The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry.
- (transitive) To extend through (a time period).
- The parking lot spans three acres.
- The novel spans three centuries.
- (transitive) To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.
- to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder
- (mathematics) To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
- (intransitive, US, dated) To be matched, as horses.
- (transitive) To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.
Translations
Etymology 3
From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnan? (“to spin”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General Australian, General American) IPA(key): /spæn/
- Rhymes: -æn
Verb
span
- (archaic, now nonstandard) simple past tense of spin
Anagrams
- ANPs, NPAS, NSPA, PANs, PNAS, PNAs, Pans, SNAP, naps, pans, snap
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sp?n/
- Hyphenation: span
- Rhymes: -?n
Etymology 1
From older gespan.
Noun
span n (plural spannen, diminutive spannetje n)
- A span, a team (pair or larger team of draught animals). [from 17th c.]
- A cart or instrument with a team of draught animals. [from 18th c.]
- A romantic pair, couple. [from 19th c.]
Derived terms
- driespan
- tweespan
- vierspan
- zesspan
Descendants
- Afrikaans: span
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Verb
span
- first-person singular present indicative of spannen
- imperative of spannen
Anagrams
- snap
Middle English
Noun
span
- Alternative form of spanne
Sranan Tongo
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch gespannen.
Noun
span
- tense
West Frisian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
span n (plural spannen, diminutive spantsje)
- span, team (pair of draught animals in a team)
- pair, couple
Further reading
- “span (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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