zenitferhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zenitfer_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezenitfer, n.
Revised 2018

zenitfernoun

Astronomy Now historical and rare.
  1. 1596–
    A part of an astrolabe used for measuring zenith distances.
    1. 1596
      This Astrolabe hath three generall partes, that is to say, the Celestiall, the Zenitfer with his Cursor, and the Almicantifer with his Pointer.
      J. Blagrave, Astrolabium Vranicum i. sig. B1
    2. 1596
      As farre as the Zenithfer will giue leaue.
      J. Blagrave, Astrolabium Vranicum i. sig. B 1 b
    3. 1929
      The scales on the Zenitfer are so elaborate..that I doubt whether any one would ever have been able to reconstruct them.
      Archaeologia vol. 29 68
    4. 1980
      At the top is an unusual revolving rule, or zenitfer, used for astrolabe calculations.
      Map Collector No. 10. 6/1

Originally published as part of the entry for zenith, n. & adj.

zenitfer, n. was revised in June 2018.

zenitfer, n. was last modified in July 2023.