Caliber

Caliber
Caliber Cal"i*ber, Calibre Cal"ibre, n. [F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. q[=a]lib model, mold. Cf. {Calipers}, {Calivere}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Gunnery) The diameter of the bore, as a cannon or other firearm, or of any tube; or the weight or size of the projectile which a firearm will carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber. [1913 Webster]

The caliber of empty tubes. --Reid. [1913 Webster]

A battery composed of three guns of small caliber. --Prescott. [1913 Webster]

Note: The caliber of firearms is expressed in various ways. Cannon are often designated by the weight of a solid spherical shot that will fit the bore; as, a 12-pounder; pieces of ordnance that project shell or hollow shot are designated by the diameter of their bore; as, a 12 inch mortar or a 14 inch shell gun; small arms are designated by hundredths of an inch expressed decimally; as, a rifle of .44 inch caliber. [1913 Webster]

2. The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet or column. [1913 Webster]

3. Fig.: Capacity or compass of mind. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

{Caliber compasses}. See {Calipers}.

{Caliber rule}, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely.

{A ship's caliber}, the weight of her armament. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Caliber — Beschreibung Fachzeitschrift für Schußwaffen und Waffentechnik Sprache deutsch Verlag VS Medien Erstausgabe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • caliber — [n1] capacity; character ability, appetency, capability, competence, constitution, dignity, distinction, endowment, essence, faculty, force, gifts, habilitation, merit, nature, parts, power, quality, scope, stature, strength, talent, value,… …   New thesaurus

  • caliber — I (measurement) noun amount, amplitude, area, breadth, broad gauge, broadness, compass, cross dimension, cross measurement, degree, diameter, diameter of a cylindrical body, dimensions, expanse, extent, full size, gauge, girth, grade, magnitude,… …   Law dictionary

  • caliber — 1560s, degree of merit or importance, from M.Fr. calibre (late 15c.), apparently ultimately from Arabic qalib a mold for casting. Arabic also used the word in the sense mold for casting bullets, which is the original literal meaning in English,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • caliber — *quality, stature Analogous words: capability, capacity, *ability: force, *power …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • caliber — [kal′ə bər] n. [Fr & Sp, ult. < Ar qālib, a mold, last, < Aram < Gr kalopodion, shoemaker s last, lit., little wooden foot < kalon, wood + pous (gen. podos), FOOT] 1. the size of a bullet or shell as measured by its diameter 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • Caliber — The term caliber or calibre designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. It comes from the French calibre , itself from qālib (قالب), Arabic word for mold , itself from kalamoys , Greek word for wooden… …   Wikipedia

  • Caliber 2 — Messung mit einem Messschieber Mittels der Kettenverschleißmessung kann die Längung einer Fahrradkette gemessen werden. Das ist nötig, da sich die Kette beim Betrieb des Fahrrades längt. Dann gräbt sie sich in die Ritzel und in die Kettenblätter… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • caliber — (cal)    1. a unit used to express the bore of a gun. (The bore is the inside diameter of the gun barrel.) Traditionally, the diameter was stated in inches, so that .22 caliber referred to a pistol having a bore of 0.22 inches (5.588 mm). This… …   Dictionary of units of measurement

  • Caliber .50 — Cal.50: Caliber Fifty Cal.50 Caliber Fifty Éditeur Taito, Romstar (Arcade) Mentrix (Megadrive) Développeur Seta (Arcade) Mentrix (Megadrive) Concepteur Noboru Miyamari (directeur) Jun Fujimoto (producteur) Date de sortie 1989 …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”