barometer
UK /bəˈɹɒm.ɪ.tə(ɹ)/ · US /bəˈɹɑ.mə.tɚ/ noun
Forms barometers
- noun An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure.
- noun (figurative, by extension) Anything used as a gauge or indicator.
Etymology
From baro- + -meter. Coined in 1665 by Robert Boyle as a name for the instrument invented by Torricelli some 20 years earlier; soon thereafter borrowed from English into various languages.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An instrument for determining the weight or pressure of the atmosphere, and hence for judging of the probable changes of weather, or for ascertaining the height of any ascent.
Etymology [Gr. weight + -meter: cf. F. baromètre.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “barometer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details