An instrument for ascertaining the amount of the magnet's inclination towards the earth; it is so delicately suspended, that, instead of vibrating horizontally, one end dips or yields to the vertical force. This instrument has been so perfected by Mr. R. W. Fox of Falmouth, that even at sea in the heaviest gales of wind the dip could instantly, by magnetic deflectors, be ascertained to minutes, far beyond what heretofore could be elicited from the most expensive instruments, observed over 365 days on shore.
n. name applied to two Australiantrees, Hakea leucoptera, R. Br., N.O. Proteaceae;called also Pin-b...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.