A compass is an instrument for determining direction consisting essentially of a freely suspended magnetic needle that points toward the magnetic north.
As described in the dictionaries, the compass has different meanings, mainly: A device used to determine geographic direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle or needles horizontally mounted...
1. A device using a magnetized needle to point to the direction of magnetic north (which is actually a south pole, but that's another story).
2. A device for drawing circles.
1. Nobody really knows. Many years ago there was a verb in English ; to compass. It had several meanings which included "to measure a distance". Its origin was well known, from the Latin "to measure...