You searched for: “loxodrome
loxodrome
1. A line on a globe equally oblique to all meridians.
2. A rhumb line or curve on the surface of a sphere intersecting all meridians at the same angle.

An example includes the course of a ship or aircraft following a constant compass direction.

3. The path followed by a ship or an aircraft which maintains a constant course with a compass.
This entry is located in the following unit: lox-, loxo- + (page 1)
rhumb line, rhumb lines; loxodrome, loxodromes
1. The path of a nautical vessel or air craft that maintains a constant or fixed compass direction.
2. A line that cuts all meridians (imaginary great circle on the earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles) at the same angle.
3. Etymology: possibly from Spanish or Portuguese rumbo, "course, direction"; ultimately from Latin rhombus, "turn, spin"; which came from Greek rhombos, "spinning top", from rhembesthai, "to spin, to whirl".
This entry is located in the following unit: rhomb-, rhombo-, rhombi- (page 1)