v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Compassed p. pr. & vb. n. Compassing. ] [ F. compasser, LL. compassare. ] 1. To go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye shall compass the city seven times. Josh. vi. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

We the globe can compass soon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round, around, and round about. [ 1913 Webster ]

With terrors and with clamors compassed round. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now all the blessings
Of a glad father compass thee about. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round. Luke xix. 43. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To reach round; to circumvent; to get within one's power; to obtain; to accomplish. [ 1913 Webster ]

If I can check my erring love, I will:
If not, to compass her I'll use my skill. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

How can you hope to compass your designs? Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To curve; to bend into a circular form. [ Obs. except in carpentry and shipbuilding. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Law) To purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Compassing and imagining the death of the king are synonymous terms; compassing signifying the purpose or design of the mind or will, and not, as in common speech, the carrying such design to effect. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. compas, fr. LL. compassus circle, prop., a stepping together; com- + passus pace, step. See Pace, Pass. ] 1. A passing round; circuit; circuitous course. [ 1913 Webster ]

They fetched a compass of seven day's journey. 2 Kings iii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

This day I breathed first; time is come round,
And where I did begin, there shall I end;
My life is run his compass. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within the compass of an encircling wall. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An inclosed space; an area; extent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their wisdom . . . lies in a very narrow compass. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of his eye; the compass of imagination. [ 1913 Webster ]

The compass of his argument. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within. [ 1913 Webster ]

In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Mus.) The range of notes, or tones, within the capacity of a voice or instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. An instrument for determining directions upon the earth's surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and southerly direction. [ 1913 Webster ]

He that first discovered the use of the compass did more for the supplying and increase of useful commodities than those who built workhouses. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A pair of compasses. [ R. ] See Compasses.

To fix one foot of their compass wherever they please. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. A circle; a continent. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The tryne compas [ the threefold world containing earth, sea, and heaven. Skeat. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Azimuth compass. See under Azimuth. --
Beam compass. See under Beam. --
Compass card, the circular card attached to the needles of a mariner's compass, on which are marked the thirty-two points or rhumbs. --
Compass dial, a small pocket compass fitted with a sundial to tell the hour of the day. --
Compass plane (Carp.), a plane, convex in the direction of its length on the under side, for smoothing the concave faces of curved woodwork. --
Compass plant,
Compass flower (Bot.), a plant of the American prairies (Silphium laciniatum), not unlike a small sunflower; rosinweed. Its lower and root leaves are vertical, and on the prairies are disposed to present their edges north and south. [ 1913 Webster ]

Its leaves are turned to the north as true as the magnet:
This is the compass flower. Longefellow.

--
Compass saw, a saw with a narrow blade, which will cut in a curve; -- called also fret saw and keyhole saw. --
Compass timber (Shipbuilding), curved or crooked timber. --
Compass window (Arch.), a circular bay window or oriel window. --
Mariner's compass, a kind of compass used in navigation. It has two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a card, which moves freely upon a pivot, and is read with reference to a mark on the box representing the ship's head. The card is divided into thirty-two points, called also rhumbs, and the glass-covered box or bowl containing it is suspended in gimbals within the binnacle, in order to preserve its horizontal position. --
Surveyor's compass, an instrument used in surveying for measuring horizontal angles. See Circumferentor. --
Variation compass, a compass of delicate construction, used in observations on the variations of the needle. --
To fetch a compass, to make a circuit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being compassed or accomplished. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rounded; arched. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

She came . . . into the compassed window. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n., pl. An instrument for describing circles, measuring figures, etc., consisting of two, or (rarely) more, pointed branches, or legs, usually joined at the top by a rivet on which they move. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The compasses for drawing circles have adjustable pen points, pencil points, etc.; those used for measuring without adjustable points are generally called dividers. See Dividers. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bow compasses. See Bow-compass. --
Caliber compasses,
Caliper compasses. See Calipers. --
Proportional,
Triangular, etc.,
compasses. See under Proportional, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Shipbuilding) Curved; bent; as, compassing timbers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. compassio, fr. compati to have compassion; com- + pati to bear, suffer. See Patient. ] Literally, suffering with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. [ 1913 Webster ]

Womanly ingenuity set to work by womanly compassion. Macaulay.

Syn. -- Pity; sympathy; commiseration; fellow-feeling; mercy; condolence. See Pity. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To pity. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Deserving compassion or pity; pitiable. [ R. ] Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having a temper or disposition to pity; sympathetic; merciful. [ 1913 Webster ]

There never was any heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Complaining; inviting pity; pitiable. [ R. ] Shak.

Syn. -- Sympathizing; tender; merciful; pitiful. [ 1913 Webster ]