calipers

English

WOTD – 5 August 2009

Calipers

Alternative forms

• callipers

Etymology

A corruption of caliber.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkæl.ɪ.pəz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkæl.ɪ.pɚz/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

calipers pl (plural only)

1. A device used to measure dimensions, especially for small or precise measurements.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:

     "Good, good for there," he mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head. Rather surprised, I said Yes, when he produced a thing like calipers and got the dimensions back and front and every way, taking notes carefully.

2. (UK) A metal (orthopedic) leg support.

   Synonym: (US) leg braces

Related terms

• caliber, calibre
• vernier caliper

Translations

measuring device

• Bulgarian: дебеломер m (debelomer)
• Catalan: calibrador m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 卡尺 (zh) (kǎchǐ)

• Danish: skydelære (da) c
• Dutch: passer (nl)
• Finnish: tulkki (fi), työntömitta (fi), rakotulkki (fi)
• French: compas d’épaisseur (fr) m (compass-like calipers), pied à coulisse (fr) m (Vernier calipers and their variants)
• Georgian: მზომი (mzomi), კალიპერი (ḳaliṗeri)
• German: Stangenzirkel n, Messschieber (de) m, Kaliber (de) n (dated)
• Icelandic: rennimál n, skífmál n
• Macedonian: шублер (mk) m (šubler)
• Maori: kauae-ine
• Norwegian: skyvelære (no) m or f
• Polish: suwmiarka (pl) f
• Portuguese: paquímetro m
• Russian: штангенци́ркуль (ru) m (štangencírkulʹ)
• Spanish: calibre (es) m
• Swahili: kalipa
• Swedish: krumpassare c, krumcirkel c, skjutmått (sv) n

See also

• compass

Anagrams

• earclips, replicas, spiracle