society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [noun] > compass > box or binnacle (3)
A protective case for the needle of a ship's compass. Also in box and needle: a ship's compass; (also) a compass used in land surveying. Obsolete.
A box on the deck of a ship near the helm, in which the compass is placed.
transferred. ‘The brass or metal box of a compass’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867).