Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Binnacle

Binnacle ({not transcribed}) , noun

[For bittacle, corrupted (perh. by influence of bin) from Portuguese bitacola binnacle, from Latin habitaculum dwelling place, from habitare to dwell. See Habit, and compare Bittacle.]

(Nautical) A case or box placed near the helmsman, containing the compass of a ship, and a light to show it at night. — Totten