Calibration

How to spell calibration

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce calibration

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does calibration mean?

1. nounThe process of checking or adjusting a measuring instrument against a known standard so that its readings are accurate.

Calibration in a sentence

• The laboratory scales need regular calibration to stay accurate.

• A technician performed the annual calibration on every pressure gauge.

Where does calibration come from?

Language of origin: French

The word traces back through the verb 'calibrate' to the noun 'calibre', which originally meant the internal diameter of a gun barrel or the size of a bullet. English took 'calibre' from French in the late 1500s, and the French in turn most likely borrowed it from the Arabic 'qalib', meaning a 'mould' or 'form' used to shape something to an exact size. From the idea of measuring the bore of a barrel, the sense broadened to mean checking and adjusting any instrument against a known standard. The verb 'calibrate' was coined in the nineteenth century, and 'calibration' followed as its action noun. The spelling trap lives in the unstressed middle: the schwa vowel in 'cal-i-bra-tion' is easy to drop or to misspell as an 'e', so it helps to recall the parent word 'calibre'.

How the word is built

• calibr- (from calibre: the bore or diameter of a tube)
• -ate (verb)
• -ion (noun of action)