Ohmmeter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An instrument used for measuring electrical resistance and indicating ohms
2. a device specifically designed to assess the resistance of electrical components
3. a tool that provides readings of resistance in circuits, often converting them into a readable scale

Etymology: Georg Simon Ohm, the German physicist who described the relationship between voltage, current and resistance, gave his name to the unit of resistance, and the instrument built to measure that unit took its name from it by simple compounding. "Ohmmeter" is formed from "ohm" plus "-meter", so the word is a plain technical coinage rather than a classical survival. The second half carries the older history. "-meter" traces back through French "-mètre" to the ancient Greek "métron", meaning "measure", which in turn comes from an ancient root meaning to measure. The Greek suffix "-tron" was attached to words for tools and instruments, and that pattern passed into modern scientific vocabulary, where "-meter" now names devices that measure quantities such as length, pressure or electrical resistance.