Etymology and Historical Description
The word "loxodrome" comes from Greek loxos : oblique + dromos : running (from dramein : to run). The word "rhumb" may come from Spanish/Portuguese rumbo/rumo (course, direction) and Greek ῥόμβος.
The 1878 edition ofThe Globe Encyclopaedia of Universal Information describes loxodrome lines as:
- Loxodrom'ic Line is a curve which cuts every member of a system of lines of curvature of a given surface at the same angle. A ship sailing towards the same point of the compass describes such a line which cuts all the meridians at the same angle. In Mercator's Projection (q.v.) the Loxodromic lines are evidently straight.
Read more about this topic: Rhumb Line
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