Theodolite
//θiːˈɒdəlaɪt// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A surveying instrument, consisting of a small mounted telescope, used to measure horizontal and vertical angles.
"I drew outlines (according to my usual custom) of all the hills on the horizon before us, and took angles on them with the theodolite."
- 2 a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small telescope mounted on a tripod wordnet
Example
More examples"I drew outlines (according to my usual custom) of all the hills on the horizon before us, and took angles on them with the theodolite."
Etymology
From New Latin theodolitus (1571), perhaps containing Ancient Greek θέᾱ (théā, “sight, view”) and Arabic العِضَادَة (al-ʕiḍāda, “astrolabe, alidade”); if so, doublet of alidade.
Related phrases
More for "theodolite"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.