, in a ship, &c, a thin slip of some kind of matter, placed on high in the open air, turning easily round on an axis or spindle, and veered about by the wind, to shew its direction or course.
Vanes, in Mathematical or Philosophical Instruments, are sights made to slide and move upon crossstaves, fore-staves, quadrants, &c.
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Entry taken from A Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary, by Charles Hutton, 1796.
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