D'Arsay statue featuring the concept of four cardinal compass directions (top etching)
Cardinal directions were the four primary points found on a compass indicating the directions north, east, south, and west, with north to south running perpendicularly, and east to west running horizontally. The ordinal directions, northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, ran diagonal to each of the cardinal directions.
While analyzing the artifacts discovered along with the D'Arsay archive in 2370, in particular a compass symbol, Captain Jean-Luc Picard pointed out to Commander William T. Riker that "the concept of the four cardinal compass directions is quite common in many different cultures." Riker pointed out that some of the D'Arsay words that Data had recognized arranged in that particular design included "boundary", "border", and "road", leaving Picard to speculated that because all things shared "movement" in common, that the meaning was "finding a direction, traveling a path, crossing a boundary". (TNG: "Masks")
Directions on a compass |
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