Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “calibration” come from?

Calibration comes from English calibrate, from French calibre, from Italian calibro, from Ancient Greek καλόπους meaning beautiful-footed.

calibration (English): The act of calibrating something

Definitions

  1. The act of calibrating something

Ancestry of “calibration”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcalibrateTo check or adjust by comparison with a standard;...
2EnglishcaliberDiameter of the bore of a firearm, typically...
3Frenchcalibrecalibre; first-person singular present indicative...
4Italiancalibrocaliber, bore; callipers; template
5Arabicقَالِبform, mold; form, mould; mold
6Classical Syriacܩܠܒܝܕlast
7Ancient Greekκαλοπόδιονshoemaker's last
8Ancient Greekκᾱλόπους—
9Ancient Greekπούςfoot; leg; Greek foot or pous, the ancient Greek...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpṓdsfoot
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpóds—
12Proto-Indo-Europeanped-to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall

Words derived from “calibration”

  • recalibration
  • intercalibration
  • autocalibration
  • miscalibration
  • crosscalibration
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ped- →