theodolite

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a surveying instrument with a movable telescope for precisely measuring horizontal and vertical angles

   The surveyor centered the theodolite over the marker before measuring the angle to the ridge.

From New Latin theodolitus, the unexplained name used by English surveyor Leonard Digges in 1571. Proposed Greek and Arabic derivations remain uncertain, so the instrument's deeper etymology is unresolved.

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