Editing Azimuth (section)

==Etymology==
The word ''azimuth'' is used in all European languages today. It originates from medieval Arabic السموت (''al-sumūt'', pronounced ''as-sumūt''), meaning "the directions" (plural of Arabic السمت ''al-samt'' = "the direction"). The Arabic word entered late medieval Latin in an astronomy context and in particular in the use of the Arabic version of the [[astrolabe]] astronomy instrument. Its first recorded use in English is in the 1390s in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Treatise on the Astrolabe]]''. The first known record in any Western language is in Spanish in the 1270s in an astronomy book that was largely derived from Arabic sources, the ''[[Libros del saber de astronomía]]'' commissioned by [[King Alfonso X]] of Castile.<ref>"Azimuth" at [https://archive.org/stream/oed01arch#page/602/mode/1up ''New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'']; "azimut" at [http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/azimut ''Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales'']; "al-Samt" at [http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-samt-SIM_6591 ''Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam'']; "azimuth" at [http://englishwordsofarabicancestry.wordpress.com/#cite_note-39 EnglishWordsOfArabicAncestry.wordpress.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102020035/http://englishwordsofarabicancestry.wordpress.com/#cite_note-39 |date=January 2, 2014 }}. In Arabic the written ''al-sumūt'' is always pronounced ''as-sumūt'' (see [[Sun and moon letters|pronunciation of "al-" in Arabic]]).</ref>