calipers

English

WOTD – 5 August 2009

English Wikipedia has an article on:

calipers

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• callipers (UK)
• caliper

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

   • 1988, Bapsi Sidhwa, Ice-Candy Man, Daunt Books (2016), page 4:

     And simultaneously I raise my trouser cuff to reveal the leather straps and wicked steel calipers harnessing my right boot.

Related terms

• caliber, calibre
• vernier caliper

Translations

measuring device

Bulgarian: дебеломер m (debelomer) Catalan: calibrador m Chinese: Mandarin: 卡尺 (zh) (kǎchǐ) Czech: posuvné měřítko (cs) n, šupléra (cs) f (informal) Danish: skydelære (da) c Dutch: schuifmaat (nl), schuifpasser (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) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: по̀мично ме̏рило n, по̀мично мје̏рило n, шу̏блер m Roman: pòmično mȅrilo n, pòmično mjȅrilo n, šȕbler (sh) m Spanish: calibre (es) m Swahili: kalipa Swedish: krumpassare c, krumcirkel c, skjutmått (sv) n

See also

• compass

Anagrams

• earclips, replicas, spiracle