calibre
pronunciation
How to pronounce calibre in British English:
UK [ˈkælɪbə(r)]
How to pronounce calibre in American English:
US [ˈkælɪbər]
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- Noun:
- a degree or grade of excellence or worth
- diameter of a tube or gun barrel
Word Origin
- calibre
- calibre: [16] Calibre, and the related calliper, are of Arabic origin. They come ultimately from Arabic qālib ‘shoemaker’s last, mould’ (there is some dispute over the source of this: some etymologists simply derive it from the Arabic verb qalaba ‘turn, convert’, while others trace it back to Greek kalapoús, literally ‘wooden foot’, a compound formed from kalon ‘wood’, originally ‘firewood’, a derivative of kaiein ‘burn’, and poús ‘foot’).English acquired the Arabic word via Italian calibro and French calibre. The original Western meaning, ‘diameter of a bullet, cannon-ball, etc’, derives from the Arabic sense ‘mould for casting metal’. Calliper [16], which originally meant ‘instrument for measuring diameters’, is generally taken to be an alteration of calibre.=> calliper
- calibre (n.)
- chiefly British English spelling of caliber (q.v.); for spelling, see -re.
Example
- 1. When he shook his shirt sleeve , a . 22 Calibre bullet dropped out .
- 2. Objects included a caulking gun , a power drill , a handsaw or a 0.45 calibre handgun .
- 3. In the case of mbts this usually includes a larger calibre gun , improved ammunition , upgraded fire-control systems ( fcs ) and greater protection .
- 4. He gained an adviser and ambassador of presidential calibre , while removing from the senate a powerful democratic rival who might have formed a nucleus of disaffection .
- 5. Ferreira was sitting on a curb in one of rio 's most violent slums and minutes earlier had witnessed his colleague 's skull shattered by a high calibre rifle shot .