Meanings
nounbolometer (plural bolometers)
plural bolometers
- natural sciencesA sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷelH-
- Proto-Hellenic*gʷəlnō
- Ancient Greekβᾰ́λλω (bắllō)
- Ancient Greekβολή (bolḗ)
- Proto-Indo-European*med-
- Proto-Indo-European*meh₁-
- Ancient Greekμέτρον (métron)
- Englishbolometer
From Ancient Greek βολή (bolḗ, “a throw, the stroke”) + English -o- + -meter. Coined by American physicist, pioneer of aviation, and 3rd Secretary of the Smithsonian Samuel Langley in 1878.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan bolòmetre
- bolòmetrea sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Esperanto bolometro
- bolometroa sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Finnish bolometri
- bolometria sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
French bolomètre
- bolomètrea sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Italian bolometro
- bolometroa sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Malay bolometer
- bolometera sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Polish bolometr
- bolometra sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Portuguese bolómetro, bolômetro
- bolómetroa sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
- bolômetroa sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Spanish bolómetro
- bolómetroa sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Turkish bolometre
- bolometrea sensitive device for detecting and measuring the energy of electromagnetic radiation
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bolometer
thermometerbarometerspectrometerkilometremagnetometerspeedometerpotentiometerspectrophotometerhygrometerphotometerhydrometersphygmomanometerpyrometercytometerspirometergalvanometerelectrometercringeometerdromometererythrocytometerhaemometerhectometreosmometerpharyngometer
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
bolometer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolometer
MLA
“bolometer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolometer. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bolometer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bolometer.
Source: bolometer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.