protractorn.

1602 J. Tapp Seamans Kalender sig. K4 (heading) The Tipe of a Trauerse boord and a protractor.

1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Protractor, a certain Mathematical instrument made of brasse, consisting of the Scale and Semicircle, used in the surveying of Land.

1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 92 Measure the Angle marked upon the Plan with the Protractor.

1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. x. 105 Whole circles, or theodolites, divided into degrees and their parts, quadrants and sextants, are usually employed in measuring angles; and protractors, semicircles, and lines of chords, in laying them off.

1889 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 421 The application of an ordinary horn protractor will at once show the angle included in every instance.

1926 J. J. Connington Death at Swaythling Court vi. 108 With the protractor, he measured the angle made by the two lines on the map.

2006 Times Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 20 Jan. 31 There is still a lot of learning to be had from exploring rules associated with congruent triangles by getting pupils to investigate them using a ruler, pencil, and protractor.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Delayeur, a delayer, deferrer, protractor, prolonger, lingerer, wiredrawer.

1697 G. Burghope Disc. Relig. Assemblies 144 The protractors and delayers of due preparation.

1737 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. (1777) viii. 277 I know not what part the protractors of the war..intended to take.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Protractor, an Instrument us'd in Surgery, to draw out any foreign or disagreeable Bodies from a Wound, or ulcer, in like manner as the Forceps.

1853 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 143 31 When this organ [sc. the molluscan tongue] is in action, it is commonly more or less protruded from the mouth by the protractor muscles.

1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. v. ii. 276 Four muscles, two of which are protractors [Fr. protracteurs], and two retractors.

1871 T. H. Huxley Man. Anat. Vertebrated Animals 49 The psoas minor..is a protractor of the pelvis.

1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) vii. 96 Close to the adductors are the smaller protractor and retractor muscles of the foot, the origins of which have already been seen on the inner surface of the shell.

1984 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Sept. 984/3 Though the camel is retromingent, its powerful protractor muscles absolve it from the difficult feat of retrocopulation.

1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes iv. 37/1 Muscles are arranged in pairs at the bases of the dorsal and anal fins: protractors erect the fins and retractors depress the fins.

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 1812/1 Protractor,..an adjustable tailor's pattern, expansible to agree in its proportions with the particular measurements and capable of being secured in the obtained adjustment.