Meteorograph

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An instrument designed to simultaneously and automatically record the changes in various atmospheric conditions ; a device that charts weather variables without manual intervention
2. A tool that automatically tracks and documents multiple meteorological phenomena at once ; equipment for the unattended recording of atmospheric data
3. An apparatus used for the combined automatic observation and recording of several weather elements ; machinery that logs environmental changes in the atmosphere without human operation

Etymology: A meteorograph is a compound built from two Greek-derived pieces: "meteoro-", from the Greek "meteōros", meaning "high in the air" or "lofty," which gave English the sense of atmospheric phenomena, and "-graph", from the Greek "graphein", "to write." Put together, the name describes an instrument that writes down the weather by itself. The "-graph" element is the familiar one, found in words like "photograph" and "telegraph," where it always marks a device that records or draws something. What makes the formation distinctive is the first half, which combines with "-graph" to name an instrument that records atmospheric conditions rather than merely measuring them. The combining form "meteoro-" carries the older sense of things in the sky, so the whole word reads literally as a recorder of the heights.

Synonyms: weather recorder, meteorological instrument