From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Palinurus \Pal`inu"rus\, n. [So called from L. Palinurus, the
pilot of Aeneas.] (Naut.)
An instrument for obtaining directly, without calculation,
the true bearing of the sun, and thence the variation of the
compass.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
Palinurus
n 1: type genus of the family Palinuridae [syn: Palinurus,
genus Palinurus]