chronometer

chronometer, portable timekeeping device of great accuracy, particularly one used for determining longitude at sea. Although there were a couple of earlier isolated uses, the word was originally employed in 1779 by the English clock maker John Arnold to describe his sensationally accurate pocket chronometer “no. 1/36.” Ordinary clocks were of no use at sea due to temperature changes and the ship’s motion. It was not until the 18th century that John Harrison, a self-taught...