ring dialn.
/ˈrɪŋ dʌɪəl/, U.S. /ˈrɪŋ ˌdaɪəl/ Now historical.
A small portable sundial in the form of one or more graduated metal rings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > sundial
chilindrec1386
dialc1425
sundial1555
clocka1562
cylinder1593
horoscope1623
compass-dial1632
moon dial1664
ring dial1667
heliotrope1669
pole-dial1669
sciatheric1682
spot dial1687
polar dial1688
sun clock1737
meridian ring1839
solarium1842
journey-ring1877
scratch dial1914
1667 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 435 A large Ring-Dial..having a Box with a Compass or Needle.
1674 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. & Geogr. (ed. 3) v. Pref. Universal Dials are those commonly called Equinoctial or Ring-Dials.
1721 (title) Leybourn's description and use of..Gunter's quadrant... To which is added the use of..the nocturnal, the ring-dyal, and Gunter's line.
1825 Stranger's Comp. Cambridge 52 A globe, a universal ring-dial, a quadrant and compass, formerly belonging to Sir Isaac Newton.
1922 Proceedings (U.S. Naval Inst.) 48 1753 To find the hour of the days by this ring-dial, the hole in the small sliding nut on the bridge was placed to the day of the month (or sun's declination).
2000 Sphaera No. 11. 5/4 The same principle of self-orienting was used in the later, and much more common, equinoctial ring dial.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1667