Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An instrument that measures the area of a plane figure as a mechanically coupled pointer traverses the perimeter of the figure.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An instrument for measuring a plane area by carrying a tracer round its periphery, and noting the change of reading of a scale.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An instrument for measuring the area of any plane figure, however irregular, by passing a tracer around the bounding line; a platometer.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
integrating device used to measure thearea of anirregular figure via tracing itsoutline
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a measuring instrument for measuring the area of an irregular plane figure
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The area of the wound is traced carefully on transparent paper, and then computed by using a mathematical machine, called a planimeter, which measures areas.
Manhood of Humanity. Alfred Korzybski 1914
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Then these were filed, county by county, farm by farm in offices which employed technicians to use a device known as a planimeter.
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Traces boundary lines of land plots on aerial photographs to determine acreage, using planimeter.
Discover What You’re Best At Linda Gale 1998
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The area on the map can then be measured with a planimeter, or estimated by dividing it into squares.
Chapter 8 1991
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Instrument for mechanical copying of drawings or plans on the same or a different scale planimeter
Chapter 7 1991
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He called attention to what he termed "compound compasses," a class of linkages that included Watt's parallel motion, the pantograph, and the polar planimeter.
Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt Eugene S. Ferguson 1960
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It thus answers the same purpose as Ainslee's polar planimeter, and though not so handy, is free from the defect due to the sliding of the integrating wheel on the paper.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 288, July 9, 1881 Various
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From the point, A, a line, AB, is drawn in any direction to the boundary; the tracing point of the planimeter is now placed at A, with the hatchet at X, Fig. 3, that is, with the instrument roughly square with
Scientific American Supplement, No. 1082, September 26, 1896 Various
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The instrument we are about to describe is an improvement on the hatchet planimeter and is due to Prof. Goodman, of Leeds.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 1082, September 26, 1896 Various
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He showed a polar planimeter in which the integrating surface is a sphere.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 315, January 14, 1882 Various
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