caliber

Noun
US[kal-uh-ber]/ˈkæləbɚ/3 syllables
Synonyms: qualitycalibreboregauge

Open English WordNet

Noun (2)

  1. a degree or grade of excellence or worth“the quality of students has risen”“an executive of low caliber”Synonyms: qualitycalibreType of degree, gradeKinds superiority, inferiorityAttribute of superior, inferior
  2. diameter of a tube or gun barrelSynonyms: boregaugecalibreType of diameter, diam
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Cal′i·ber, Cal′ibre noun

Origin: F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. qālib model, mold. Cf. Calipers, Calivere.

1. Gunnery The diameter of the bore, as a cannon or other firearm, or of any tube; or the weight or size of the projectile which a firearm will carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber.

The caliber of empty tubes.— Thomas Reid
A battery composed of three guns of small caliber.— William Hickling Prescott

☞ The caliber of firearms is expressed in various ways. Cannon are often designated by the weight of a solid spherical shot that will fit the bore; as, a 12-pounder; pieces of ordnance that project shell or hollow shot are designated by the diameter of their bore; as, a 12 inch mortar or a 14 inch shell gun; small arms are designated by hundredths of an inch expressed decimally; as, a rifle of.44 inch caliber.

2. The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet or column.

3. Fig.: Capacity or compass of mind. Edmund Burke

Caliber compasses. See Calipers. — Caliber rule, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely. — A ship's caliber, the weight of her armament.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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