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caliber

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cal⋅i⋅ber

  [kal-uh-ber]
Use caliber in a Sentence
–noun
1. the diameter of something of circular section, esp. that of the inside of a tube: a pipe of three-inch caliber.
2. Ordnance. the diameter of the bore of a gun taken as a unit of measurement.
3. degree of capacity or competence; ability: a mathematician of high caliber.
4. degree of merit or excellence; quality: the high moral caliber of the era.
Also, especially British, cal⋅i⋅bre.

Origin:
1560–70; var. of calibre < MF ≪ Ar qālib mold, last < Gk kālápous shoe last, equiv. to kāla- comb. form of kâlon wood + poús foot (see -pod )

Related forms:
cal⋅i⋅bered; especially British, cal⋅i⋅bred, adjective

Synonyms:
4. worth, distinction.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cal·i·ber   (kāl'ə-bər)   
n.  

  1. Abbr. cal.

    1. The diameter of the inside of a round cylinder, such as a tube.

    2. The diameter of the bore of a firearm, usually shown in hundredths or thousandths of an inch and expressed in writing or print in terms of a decimal fraction: .45 caliber.

    3. The diameter of a large projectile, such as an artillery shell, measured in millimeters or in inches.

  2. Degree of worth; quality: a school of high caliber; an executive of low caliber.


[French calibre, from Italian calibro, from Arabic qālib, qālab, mold, shoe tree, from Greek kālapous, shoemaker's last : kālon, wood + pous, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

caliber 
1567, from M.Fr. calibre, via Sp. or It., ult. from Arabic qalib "a mold, last," perhaps from Gk. kalopodion "a shoemaker's last," lit. "little wooden foot," from kalon "wood" + podos gen. of pous "foot" (see foot). Arabic also used the word in the sense "mold for casting bullets," which is the original lit. meaning in Eng., though the earliest cited sense is the fig. one of "social standing, quality, rank." Calibrate is attested from 1864.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cal·i·ber
Variant: or chiefly British cal·i·bre /'kal-&-b&r, Brit also k&-'lE-/
Function:noun
: the diameter of a round or cylindrical body; especially : the internal diameter of a hollow cylinder
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

caliber cal·i·ber (kāl'ə-bər)
n.
The diameter of the inside of a round cylinder, such as a tube.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

caliber

in firearms, unit of measure indicating the interior, or bore, diameter of a gun barrel and the diameter of the gun's ammunition; or the length of a gun expressed in relation to its interior diameter (now used only of naval and coastal defense guns). See bore

Learn more about caliber with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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