Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Quadrant

Quadrant: noun – one quarter of a day, six hours; instrument for measuring angles of altitude, usually a graduated quarter circle with a sighting mechanism; a farthing (SA, for those too young to know, this was a quarter of an old penny); Roman coin, a quarter of an as; plane figure bounded by radii of a circle at right angles to each other and the arc cut by them; quarter of a circle’s circumference; quarter of a sphere; anything with the form of a quarter circle; part of a street curved in a quarter circle; in nautical matters: a metal frame shaped like a quadrant, fixed to a rudder head for steering via fixed ropes or chains; slotted segmented guide through which an adjusting lever is operated; each of four parts into which something is divided.

Mostly a ‘technical’ term, but included here because of the number of uses.

‘Mary cut her birthday cake into quadrants, so that there was one for each of her guests and one for her.’

Poor Mary clearly has few friends.

28 August 1996 Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorced.

Pic: Rocks on the shore at Flamborough, East Yorkshire.