thermometer (n.)

"instrument for ascertaining temperatures," 1630s, from French thermomètre (1620s), coined by Jesuit Father Jean Leuréchon from Greek thermos "hot" (see thermo-) + metron "measure" (from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure").

An earlier, Latinate form was thermoscopium (1610s). The earliest such device was Galileo's air-thermometer, invented c. 1597. The common modern version, with mercury in glass, was invented by Fahrenheit in 1714. Related: Thermometric; thermometrical; thermometry.

also from 1630s

Entries linking to thermometer

*me- (2)

*mē-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to measure." Some words may belong instead to root *med- "to take appropriate measures."

It forms all or part of: amenorrhea; centimeter; commensurate; diameter; dimension; gematria; geometry; immense; isometric; meal (n.1) "food, time for eating;" measure; menarche; meniscus; menopause; menses; menstrual; menstruate; mensural; meter (n.1) "poetic measure;" meter (n.2) unit of length; meter (n.3) "device for measuring;" -meter; Metis; metric; metrical; metronome; -metry; Monday; month; moon; parameter; pentameter; perimeter; piecemeal; semester; symmetry; thermometer; trigonometry; trimester.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit mati "measures," matra "measure;" Avestan, Old Persian ma- "to measure;" Greek metron "measure," metra "lot, portion;" Latin metri "to measure."

thermo-

before vowels therm-, word-forming element of Greek origin meaning "hot, heat, temperature," used from c. 1800 in forming scientific and technical words, from Greek thermos "hot, warm," thermē "heat" (from PIE root *gwher- "to heat, warm").

Trends of thermometer

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Celsius

1797 in reference to the type of thermometer; 1812 in reference to the scale of temperatures, from the name of Swedish astronomer...

rise

temperature in Middle English; that sense may have developed from the use of the verb in reference to the behavior of fluid in a thermometer...

degree

From 1540s as "a measure of heat;" the specific use as a unit of temperature on a thermometer is by 1727....

capillary

1650s, "of or pertaining to the hair," from Latin capillaris "of hair," from capillus "hair" (of the head); perhaps related to caput "head" (but de Vaan finds this "difficult on the formal side" and "far from compelling, since capillus is a diminutive, and would mean 'little head

Thermos

trademark registered in Britain 1907, invented by Sir James Dewar (patented 1904 but not named then), from Greek thermos "hot" (from PIE root *gwher- "to heat, warm"). Dewar built the first one in 1892, but it was first manufactured commercially in Germany in 1904, when two glass

administration

mid-14c., administracioun, "act of giving or dispensing;" late 14c., "management (of a business, property, etc.), act of administering," from Latin administrationem (nominative administratio) "aid, help, cooperation; direction, management," noun of action from past-participle ste

reproach

mid-14c., reproche, "a rebuke, blame, censure" directed against a person; also "object of scorn or contempt;" c. 1400, as "disgrace, state of disgrace," from Anglo-French repruce, Old French reproche "blame, shame, disgrace" (12c.), from reprochier "to blame, bring up against." O

theology

mid-14c., "the science of religion, study of God and his relationship to humanity," from Old French theologie "philosophical study of Christian doctrine; Scripture" (14c.), from Latin theologia, from Greek theologia "an account of the gods," from theologos "one discoursing on the

carnival

1540s, "time of merrymaking before Lent," from French carnaval, from Italian carnevale "Shrove Tuesday," from older Italian forms such as Milanese *carnelevale, Old Pisan carnelevare "to remove meat," literally "raising flesh," from Latin caro "flesh" (originally "a piece of fles

host

"person who receives guests," especially for pay, late 13c., from Old French oste, hoste "guest, host, hostess, landlord" (12c., Modern French hôte), from Latin hospitem (nominative hospes) "guest, stranger, sojourner, visitor (hence also 'foreigner')," also "host; one bound by t

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updated on March 19, 2024

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Dictionary entries near thermometer

thermodynamic

thermodynamics

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thermometer

thermonuclear

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Thermopylae

Thermos

thermosphere