octant

/ˈɑktənt/
noun
  1. One eighth of a circle or of a sphere; an arc of 45 degrees.
    • Each octant of the sphere was painted a different color.
    • The navigator measured the star's altitude using an octant.
    • The pie was cut into eight equal slices, each an octant of the whole.
  2. An instrument used in navigation and astronomy for measuring angles, similar to a sextant but covering 45 degrees.
    • Sailors in the 18th century relied on the octant to find their position at sea.
    • The museum displayed an antique octant made of brass and wood.
    • Before GPS, an octant was essential for celestial navigation.
  3. In mathematics, any of the eight divisions of three-dimensional space defined by the coordinate axes.
    • The region of interest is bounded within the positive octant.
    • Students learned to plot points in each octant of 3D space.
    • The point (1, 2, 3) lies in the first octant of the coordinate system.
Synonyms
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