Geocaching Australia

Those landmark, distance plates you see at lookouts, the things referred to here
http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga1396
We call them
- Distance plates
- Orientation disks
- Distance markers
- many other descriptive names ....

But I did once see a specific single word name for them.
I can no longer remember what the name for them is.
It's driving me mad.
It's an unusual, probably latin based name, but it's not a two word description like the above names.
Much the same as a tripod based lineruperer is called a theodolite.

Can anyone, please help?

'Directional Plate' is what I've heard them referred to as being called.

Yes, but there is a scientific/latin type special purpose name for them.

I came across it about five years ago, remembered it for about two years, and now it's gone completely,
replaced by a plethora of tv commercials, bad jokes and football scores.

I want it back!

I'm told the old ones have the name on them...

I just checked one of mine dated 1968 & it doesn't have a name but it was officially opened so I can claim a Waymark or try!

I did Latin at school & it seldom had one word for anything. I never got the hang of it & then they cut out the Latin Mass so that was a relief. All I can remember after years of learning is: Latin is a language as dead as dead can be it killed the ancient Romans & now it's killing me. But I'll dig out my text books..........

It's a word like heliograph or theodolite or something like that.
Obviously I know that those words mean something else, but it's a single word in that style.
Appreciate the mental grappling, thanks.

Pork ?

Agent Basil wrote:Pork ?

Porcus!

Despite the flippant reply previously....

I have been searching for a suitable latin term for the directional plates but have come up blank so far. I look forward to some education.

Geoff aka Tyreless

Orientem from Oriens perhaps. Orientate is a verb meaning to align or position yourself; to work out where you are within a particular situation or environment. The origin of the word: the Latin word oriens meaning “rising” and “east”, because of the rising sun.

Credit: Daily Writing Tips.

Nice guess, but doesn't ring any bells. Thanks anyway.

Maybe Toposcopes. Wikipedia entry for toposcopes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toposcope.

Cheers,
Michael.

Seems Toposcope was the word you were looking for. From studying surveying in the 70s an old method used up to the 19th century was to set up a flat surface on a tripod and make a diagram as found on the Toposcope. This was called a Plane Table. So a Toposcope is a permanant Plane Table.

Worth noting that the iPhone dictionary knows the word Toposcope and capitalises it.

( Post Edited due to iPhone dictionary making unilateral decisions about words I used)

Yes, thank you very much. Topograph or toposcope was indeed the word.


Noun
topograph (plural topographs)


Wikipedia has an article on:
Topograph
A monument erected in a high place, such as a hilltop, indicating the direction and distance of notable landscape features which can be seen with the naked eye from that point.

Synonym
Toposcope

I only got interested in them when chasing the locationless cache "Lookout: which direction?" and that's the name we were using for them knowing there was a correct term. The only thing we came up with was "direction finder" which would do. Toposcope doesn't sound familiar though.