barometer

Etymology

It is formed from English baro- + -meter,^[2][3][4] that is, from Ancient Greek βάρος (báros, “weight”) and μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Etymonline traces the Greek noun to a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *gwere- (“heavy”).^[6] The name was probably coined, and certainly popularized, by the English scientist Robert Boyle (1627–1691).^{[5][6][8][10]} The instrument itself was invented in 1643 by Evangelista Torricelli and was at first called the Torricelli tube.^[6] baromètre (1666), barometro (1671), barometer (1695), Barometer (1714) and the Spanish and Portuguese words were all borrowed from or modelled on the English word, according to the OED.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An instrument for measuring the pressure of the atmosphere: 1664, in a letter of Henry Oldenburg in Boyle's correspondence.^[2] Barnhart and Klein date the word to 1665,^[5][8] and Etymonline to the 1660s.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the start the instrument was used to forecast changes in the weather and to measure the height reached in an ascent.^[2][11] Johnson (1755) defined it as a machine for measuring the weight of the atmosphere and its variations, chiefly to tell changes of weather, and distinguished it from the baroscope, which only showed that the air was heavier at one time than another.^[9] The figurative sense, a person or thing that indicates a changing state or opinion, is recorded from 1680 in the OED,^[2] while Barnhart first attributes it to David Hume in 1752.^[5] The OED notes that the French word took the figurative sense in 1738.^[2] From 1886 political writers called a constituency whose votes reflect those of a wider area a barometer,^[2] and Popik records "the stock market is the true barometer" in 1851.^[12]

Timeline

• 1664 – an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure.^[2] Barnhart and Klein date the word to 1665.^[5][8]
• 1680 – figurative, an indicator of changing conditions or opinions.^[2] Barnhart dates it to Hume, 1752.^[5]
• 1886 – in politics, a constituency whose votes reflect a wider area.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure, used especially in weather forecasting and to find altitude.^[13][11][2]
2. Anything that shows or responds to changes, as in public opinion or the economy; an indicator: Retail spending is a barometer of consumer confidence.^[13][11][2]
3. (politics) A constituency or region whose voting reflects that of a wider area.^[2]

Word family

• barometric
• barometrically
• barometry
• thermobarometer
• aneroid barometer
• Fortin barometer
• mercury barometer

Related words

• baroscope
• barograph
• baro-
• -meter
• meter

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. “The stock market is a barometer of business”, 23 March 2015
13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins