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Let's argue this out once and for all...

Winter

Premium Member
A judicious application of Google-fu to this shows the debate has been going on for some time. Here are some examples from a Masonic paper:

"Early masonic rituals do not show any marked preference for either form. Prichard's Masonry Dissected of 1730 uses the singular four times and the plural once. Three Distinct Knocks published in 1760 has the plural form seven times and the singular twice. Jachin and Boaz which appeared in 1762 shows a slight preference for the singular over the plural by five to four."

http://www.masonicworld.com/education/files/compa.htm

While I still believe the correct term to be the singular from an English language perspective, it is obvious that both forms have been used in Freemasonry for centuries and the "correct" form is that which your Grand Lodge stipulates!

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
Is the ritual you are using printed or cyphered?

Two of my jurisdictions use cypher, one written out except at the few crucial points. One CA allows cypher in the building but none open in a meeting. One TX does not allow the cypher in the building. One IL allows one book to be open for prompting.

Compass versus compasses is a matter of memorization with mentors and it is a detail stressed by ritual instructors in all three of my jurisdictions.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
We have printed ritual. It says "compasses" but many recite "compass"...

Thanks for your replies, they are awesome!
 

Bloke

Premium Member
I've just checked the written word in one place which might give some clarity in our printed ritual: naturally at that point in the 3rd ° it has
" on the point of the C_______"

Dam ! It would be interesting to see if "the point" was of a compass or compasses". Maybe.

I really do need to sort this out. I'm the guy in our lodge who needs to make a call on this but I can't make up my own mind - but Coach has given some great information on it. I think my only was out is a research paper...
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
Arbitrary as it may be, I was taught that A compass is a device used to find magnetic north. A set of compasses is the tool we're describing.

Again, not saying that it's right, but that was the differentiation I was taught.
 

MarkR

Premium Member
Minnesota ritual says compass. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) lists the earliest date for which they can find a reference to words or forms of words. It says that either compass or compasses is currently acceptable to use for the instrument in question, but that "compass" is by far the older form of the two (1340 for compass vs. 1555 for compasses.) Source: The Freemason at Work by Harry Carr.
 

coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
How about asking the instrument what it likes to be called?
Nah. My luck they'd mock me and tell me to stop eating mushrooms.
Do it as a visualized conversation.
Sure...
Me: Hello Tool. How are you feeling this fine day?
Tool: A little sharp and a bit divided. I find myself continually being split between two positions. And to make it worse, I feel used. Everyone who picks me up tries to spread my legs. What's your point?
...
 
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coachn

Coach John S. Nagy
Premium Member
In reality, Ritual, depending upon the jurisdiction's wording, may well employ the wrong words at times or mixes one tool name with another to emphasize two extremely important points.

The terms compass and divider are often interchanged, for each instrument can be used to draw circles, mark divisions (divide a given distance), or simply mark a distance. Technically, a compass is a drafting instrument that has one pen or pencil point and one sharp point that is positioned at the center of the circle to be described; a divider, on the other hand, has two sharp points, one for the center, the other for scribing or marking.

Dividers: a piece of equipment used in mathematics consisting of two parts which are joined at one end and have sharp points at the other and which are used for measuring lines and angles and for marking positions along lines

Compass: 1: A mathematical (Think Geometry!) instrument for dividing and drawing circles - although it appears to looks like a pair of dividers, one arms holds a pencil or similar marking device with which marks can be made; 2: an instrument indicating the magnetic meridian.

(BINGO!!!!) To avoid confusion, the term "compasses" is often used to identify the mathematical instrument.

What those important points are is once again left to the person hearing and thinking about them to ascertain.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Found our GL 'definition" list - definitely compasses... but I dont think much of their definitions on several other things.... so while I've got an answer for our jurisdiction, I'm still questioning if it is correct..
 

Canadian Paul

Registered User
My grand lodge (Scotland) doesn't have a set Ritual. Each lodge may, at the time of its erection, pick any ritual it likes ' as long as the Ancient Landmarks are followed'. Presumably, it is up to each lodge to decide between 'compass' and 'compasses'. The consensus here is 'compasses' as there are two points to it.

Which leads to one of my pet peeves - a sales clerk trying to sell me a 'pant' instead of ' a pair of pants'.

I am afraid the English language is NOT 'logical'.
 

Winter

Premium Member
Pants are referred to as a pair because they were not always joined. Each leg was a separate piece and they were joined at the waist by various means. Years of medieval reenacting, specifically 14th century, means I have a lot of first hand knowledge about these. Pants, are the abbreviated form of these two piece pantaloons and the plural noun remained after they were joined. This plurality was carried over into items that were never two pieces like a pair of shorts or swimming trunks.

Some items have a plural nomenclature to reference an item made of two pieces that were never used separately like a pair of scissors or tweezers. And, apparently, compasses.

This thread has lead me to some interesting reading regarding the etymology of words that we take for granted in every day English.

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.
 

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
This is incorrect. The compass used in map reading and in Freemasonry, with two points, is still called a compass. Not compasses. Even the standard definition of a compass includes this.

Compass. An instrument for drawing circles and arcs and measuring distances between points, consisting of two arms linked by a movable joint, one arm ending in a point and the other usually (not always) carrying a pencil or pen.

Transmitted via my R5 astromech.
Square and Compi?

And whenever I say compasses, I feel like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
 
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