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diameter

[dahy-am-i-ter]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun

Geometry.

a straight line passing through the center of a circle or sphere and meeting the circumference or surface at each end.

a straight line passing from side to side of any figure or body, through its center.

the length of such a line.

the width of a circular or cylindrical object.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English diametre < Old French < Latin diametros < Greek diámetros diagonal, diameter, equivalent to dia- dia- + -metros, derivative of métron meter¹

Can be confused: circumference, diameter, radius, tangent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To diameter

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Diameter is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Example Sentences

The fountain consists of 32 jets in the middle of a 60-foot-diameter circle in which 159 granite boulders are arranged.

At an inch and a half in diameter, it is large as buttons go.

The diamond itself is about 2.5 centimeters in diameter.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

diameter (daɪˈæmɪtə)

—n
1.	a. a straight line connecting the centre of a geometric figure, esp a circle or sphere, with two points on the perimeter or surface
	b. the length of such a line
2.	the thickness of something, esp with circular cross section

[C14: from Medieval Latin diametrus, variant of Latin diametros, from Greek: diameter, diagonal, from dia- + metron measure]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

diameter

late 14c., from O.Fr. diametre, from L. diametrus, from Gk. diametros "diagonal of a circle," from dia- "across, through" + metron "a measure" (see meter (2)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

diameter di·am·e·ter (dī-ām'ĭ-tər)
n.

A straight line connecting two opposite points on the surface of a spherical or cylindrical body, or at the boundary of an opening or foramen, passing through the center of such body or opening.
The distance measured along such a line.

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

Science Dictionary

diameter

(dī-ām'ĭ-tər) Pronunciation Key