barometer

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An instrument that measures air pressure to help predict the weather.

   The barometer is falling, so we can expect rain soon.

2. 2
   noun

   Something that shows the state or mood of a situation.

   House prices are often seen as a barometer of the economy.

From baro- + -meter. Coined in 1665 by Robert Boyle as a name for the instrument invented by Torricelli some 20 years earlier; soon thereafter borrowed from English into various languages.

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