n.
Pronunciation: ' as-tr ə - ˌ l ā b also - ˌ lab
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French astrelabe, from Medieval Latin astrolabium, from Late Greek astrolabion, from Greek astrolabos, from astr- + lambanein to take ― more at LATCH
Date: 14th century
: a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant
astrolabe