lunar
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈl(j)uːnə/
enpr: lo͞o'nər
ipa: /ˈlunɚ/
rhymes: -uːnə(ɹ)
Forms: form: lunars
Etymology: From Middle English lunar (“shaped like the crescent moon”), from Latin lūnāris (“of or pertaining to the moon, lunar”) (possibly through Middle French lunaire (modern French lunaire (“lunar”)), from lūna (“the Moon; crescent shape”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to shine”)) + -is (suffix forming adjectives).
Senses: examples: text: The carpal bones are usually described as being capable of being luxated from the lower end of the radius forwards or backwards, inwards or outwards. The case backwards, which has been stated to be the most frequent, is facilitated by the direction of the convex articular surfaces of the scaphoid, lunar, and cuneiform bones, which slope more backwards than forwards.
ref: [1838, Samuel Cooper, “DISLOCATION”, in A Dictionary of Practical Surgery: Comprehending All the Most Interesting Improvements, from the Earliest Times down to the Present Period; […], 7th edition, London: Printed for Longman, Orme, & Co.; […], →OCLC, page 451, column 1:
text: There are two larger bones of the wrist called the scaphoid and lunar; these form a large ball, and this is received into the lower end of the radius.
ref: 1888, John C[harles] L[ewis] Sparkes, “The Bones”, in A Manual of Artistic Anatomy for the Use of Students in Art. Being a Description of the Bones and Muscles that Influence the External Form of Man, London: Baillière, Tindall, and Cox, […], →OCLC, page 16, column 1:
text: The scaphoid and lunar (wrist bones) are separate, whereas in Carnivores they are united perhaps to give greater strength to the wrist.
ref: 1946, Evelyn Feiring, Rainbow of Being, Pasadena, Calif.: Holly, →OCLC, page 155:
topics: anatomy
medicine
sciences
synonyms: intermedium
lunar bone
semilunar
glosses: The middle bone of the proximal series of the carpus in the wrist, which is shaped like a half-moon.
examples: text: [Y]oung beginners cannot be too often cautioned that a single lunar is of little or no value until the observer knows the usual difference between his lunars taken on opposite sides of the moon; and these should be taken with the same instrument, using the same screens and telescope, for he must remember that they may be expected to differ. My star lunars differ from three to four minutes, or say fifty miles of longitude; my sun lunars from one to two minutes, or say twenty minutes of longitude.
ref: 1859 October, Henry Toynbee, “A Few More Words on Lunars”, in The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, volume XXVIII, number 10, London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co. […]; and J. D. Potter, […], →OCLC, page 511:
text: With cheap quartz watches (several, for reliability) we can do all the modern celestial navigation we could want. But learning and practicing lunars gives us deeper insight into celestial navigation; an appreciation for their historical importance and difficulty; and perhaps most significant of all, after conquering lunars we can appreciate the great convenience of St. Hilaire sights and modern quartz watches. Moreover, in the rare event of losing UT, with lunars and only a poor watch we can still be confident of finding our longitude at sea (well, OK, to within 30′).
ref: 2007, John Karl, “Lunar Distance Sights”, in Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age, Arcata, Calif.: Paradise Cay Publications; Wichita, Kan.: Celestaire, →ISBN, pages 96–97:
topics: nautical
transport
qualifier: navigation
glosses: An observation of a lunar distance (“the angle between the Moon and another celestial body”), especially for establishing the longitude of a ship at sea.
Derived terms: topics: anatomy
medicine
sciences
word: scapholunar