(d) (Fort.) A work thrown up to intercept an enfilade, or reverse fire, along exposed passage, or line of
work.
(e) (Law) A formal denial of some matter of fact alleged by the opposite party in any stage of the pleadings.
The technical words introducing a traverse are absque hoc, without this; that is, without this which follows.
(f) (Naut.) The zigzag course or courses made by a ship in passing from one place to another; a compound
course.
(g) (Geom.) A line lying across a figure or other lines; a transversal.
(h) (Surv.) A line surveyed across a plot of ground.
(i) (Gun.) The turning of a gun so as to make it point in any desired direction.
2. A turning; a trick; a subterfuge. [Obs.]
To work, or solve, a traverse (Naut.), to reduce a series of courses or distances to an equivalent
single one; to calculate the resultant of a traverse. — Traverse board (Naut.), a small board hung in
the steerage, having the points of the compass marked on it, and for each point as many holes as there
are half hours in a watch. It is used for recording the courses made by the ship in each half hour, by
putting a peg in the corresponding hole. — Traverse jury (Law), a jury that tries cases; a petit jury. —
Traverse sailing (Naut.), a sailing by compound courses; the method or process of finding the resulting
course and distance from a series of different shorter courses and distances actually passed over by a
ship. — Traverse table. (a) (Naut. & Surv.) A table by means of which the difference of latitude and
departure corresponding to any given course and distance may be found by inspection. It contains the
lengths of the two sides of a right-angled triangle, usually for every quarter of a degree of angle, and
for lengths of the hypothenuse, from 1 to 100. (b) (Railroad) A platform with one or more tracks, and
arranged to move laterally on wheels, for shifting cars, etc., from one line of track to another.
Traverse
(Trav"erse), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Traversed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Traversing.] [Cf. F. traverser.
See Traverse, a.]
1. To lay in a cross direction; to cross.
The parts should be often traversed, or crossed, by the flowing of the folds.
Dryden. 2. To cross by way of opposition; to thwart with obstacles; to obstruct; to bring to naught.
I can not but . . . admit the force of this reasoning, which I yet hope to traverse.
Sir W. Scott. 3. To wander over; to cross in traveling; as, to traverse the habitable globe.
What seas you traversed, and what fields you fought.
Pope. 4. To pass over and view; to survey carefully.
My purpose is to traverse the nature, principles, and properties of this detestable vice — ingratitude.
South. 5. (Gun.) To turn to the one side or the other, in order to point in any direction; as, to traverse a cannon.
6. (Carp.) To plane in a direction across the grain of the wood; as, to traverse a board.
