Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The constellation that includes the southern celestial pole.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun astronomy A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble an octant. It lies closest to the southern celestial pole of any constellation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the constellation that includes the southern celestial pole

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin Octāns, half quadrant, from octō, eight; see oktō(u) in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin octans, an "octant"

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Examples

  • Octans Hadleianus after (now Octans) John Hadley (all astronomers)

    Universe Puzzle No. 6 | Universe Today 2010

  • These include Carina CDO Ltd., named after a constellation in the southern sky, Orion 2006-2 Ltd., for a constellation named after a hunter, and Octans III CDO Ltd., named after another southern constellation.

    A Fund Behind Astronomical Losses 2008

  • Morgan Stanley and UBS AG were among the banks that owned the top pieces of these CDOs, including Octans, according to people familiar with the situation.

    A Fund Behind Astronomical Losses 2008

  • One consequence: In August 2006, Merrill Lynch bond executives decided to retain on the firm's books more than $900 million in mortgage securities to help Merrill complete a $1.5 billion underwriting of a CDO called Octans.

    Once Again, the Risk Protection Fails 2008

  • It is Sigma Octantis, in the very dull southern constellation of Octans, the Octant.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • He is one of 15 suspects detained under the Australian Federal Police's "Operation Octans," carried out by authorities from the Netherlands, Thailand, Pakistan, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Australia.

    My Sinchew - 2009

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