caliber

caliber
(cal)
   1. a unit used to express the bore of a gun. (The bore is the inside diameter of the gun barrel.) Traditionally, the diameter was stated in inches, so that ".22 caliber" referred to a pistol having a bore of 0.22 inches (5.588 mm). This usage is declining, because bore diameters of many guns are now stated directly in millimeters. "Caliber" is the American spelling; elsewhere the unit is often spelled "calibre." The decimal point is usually omitted when caliber measurements are spoken (as in "38-caliber"). Sometimes it is omitted when the measurement is written, but this is not a good practice.
   2. a measure of the relative length of a gun barrel, defined as the length divided by the diameter of the bore. Thus a 50-caliber gun on a warship has a barrel 50 times longer than its bore. Confining the shell within the barrel for a longer time increases the velocity, so guns with a higher caliber usually have a longer range.

Dictionary of units of measurement. 2015.

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  • Caliber — Cal i*ber, Calibre Cal ibre, n. [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. q[=a]lib model, mold. Cf. {Calipers}, {Calivere}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Gunnery)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Caliber — Beschreibung Fachzeitschrift für Schußwaffen und Waffentechnik Sprache deutsch Verlag VS Medien Erstausgabe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • caliber — [n1] capacity; character ability, appetency, capability, competence, constitution, dignity, distinction, endowment, essence, faculty, force, gifts, habilitation, merit, nature, parts, power, quality, scope, stature, strength, talent, value,… …   New thesaurus

  • caliber — I (measurement) noun amount, amplitude, area, breadth, broad gauge, broadness, compass, cross dimension, cross measurement, degree, diameter, diameter of a cylindrical body, dimensions, expanse, extent, full size, gauge, girth, grade, magnitude,… …   Law dictionary

  • caliber — 1560s, degree of merit or importance, from M.Fr. calibre (late 15c.), apparently ultimately from Arabic qalib a mold for casting. Arabic also used the word in the sense mold for casting bullets, which is the original literal meaning in English,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • caliber — *quality, stature Analogous words: capability, capacity, *ability: force, *power …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • caliber — [kal′ə bər] n. [Fr & Sp, ult. < Ar qālib, a mold, last, < Aram < Gr kalopodion, shoemaker s last, lit., little wooden foot < kalon, wood + pous (gen. podos), FOOT] 1. the size of a bullet or shell as measured by its diameter 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • Caliber — The term caliber or calibre designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. It comes from the French calibre , itself from qālib (قالب), Arabic word for mold , itself from kalamoys , Greek word for wooden… …   Wikipedia

  • Caliber 2 — Messung mit einem Messschieber Mittels der Kettenverschleißmessung kann die Längung einer Fahrradkette gemessen werden. Das ist nötig, da sich die Kette beim Betrieb des Fahrrades längt. Dann gräbt sie sich in die Ritzel und in die Kettenblätter… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Caliber .50 — Cal.50: Caliber Fifty Cal.50 Caliber Fifty Éditeur Taito, Romstar (Arcade) Mentrix (Megadrive) Développeur Seta (Arcade) Mentrix (Megadrive) Concepteur Noboru Miyamari (directeur) Jun Fujimoto (producteur) Date de sortie 1989 …   Wikipédia en Français

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