theodolite

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the·od·o·lite

(thē-ŏd′l-īt′)

An optical instrument consisting of a small mounted telescope rotatable in horizontal and vertical planes, used to measure angles in surveying.

[Probably coined by Leonard Digges (1520-1559), English mathematician and surveyor, as the name of a device for measuring horizontal angles, perhaps from Greek theā, a viewing + a second element of unknown origin.]

the·od′o·lit′ic (-lĭt′ĭk) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

theodolite

(θɪˈɒdəˌlaɪt)

(Surveying) a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small tripod-mounted telescope that is free to move in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Also called (in the US and Canada): transit

[C16: from New Latin theodolitus, of uncertain origin]

theodolitic adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

the•od•o•lite

(θiˈɒd lˌaɪt)

n.

a precision instrument having a telescopic sight for establishing horizontal and sometimes vertical angles. Compare transit (def. 7).

[earlier theodelitus (1571), of undetermined orig.]

the•od`o•lit′ic (-ˈɪt ɪk) adj.

theodolite

a surveying instrument for measuring vertical and horizontal angles. — theodolitic, adj.

theodolite

[θɪˈɒdəlaɪt] N → teodolito m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

theodolite

n → Theodolit m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

theodolite

[θɪˈɒdəˌlaɪt] n → teodolite m

References in classic literature ?

The theodolite hit a jutting cliff-ledge and exploded like a shell; the books, inkstands, paint-boxes, compasses, and rulers showed for a few seconds like a swarm of bees.

The rest must go out of the window.' He fingered a superb prismatic compass and the shiny top of a theodolite. But after all, a Sahib cannot very well steal, and the things might be inconvenient evidence later.

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It was a lieutenant and a couple of privates of the 8th Hus- sars, with a stand like a theodolite, which the artilleryman told me was a heliograph.

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In doubling the point, two of the officers landed to take a round of angles with the theodolite. A fox (Canis fulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very rare in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks.

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[ClickPress, Thu Oct 04 2018] Growth of the global theodolite market is mainly bound to various macro-economic and micro-economic factors.

Theodolite Market: Sales through Construction Application to Generate Significant Revenues

Finally a downhill ride into the Durham Dales, passing the old steel town of Consett, with its giant Theodolite Sculpture (pictured) and through our old industrial heartlands to the North Sea and Sunderland.