Calibration

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌkæl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/

Definitions

1. The process of adjusting or marking a measuring instrument to ensure its accuracy against a known standard
2. The procedure of modifying an instrument to align its readings with established standards of accuracy while ensuring consistent performance in measurements
3. The act of fine-tuning a measuring device to match its readings with a predetermined benchmark or standard of measurement

Etymology: The word "calibration" is a modern formation built on "calibrate," which itself is a more recent English creation. The base was "calibre," the diameter of a gun barrel or bullet, a term borrowed from French and traced back to Arabic. From that sense of measuring the bore of a weapon grew the verb "calibrate," meaning to measure or mark the graduations of an instrument, and "calibration" followed from it. The noun takes the familiar Latin-derived suffix "-ion," which passed into English through Old French from Latin "-ātiō," a pattern that gives English countless words ending in "-ation." The suffix itself is old and ordinary; what is specific here is the attachment to a verb that only arose in the nineteenth century. The earliest recorded use of the noun dates to 1852.

Synonyms: adjustment, standardization, tuning, measurement, setting