nonius
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin Nonius, the Latinised form of the name of its inventor, Pedro Nunes (1502-78), a Portuguese mathematician and geographer.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
nonius (plural noniuses)
- A device for adjusting the accuracy of mathematical instruments, later superseded by the vernier.
- 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 332:
- Well, of course, one must manipulate the various Screw-Settings precisely, read the Nonius, and an hundred other details besides I’d but bore you with,—
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
device for adjusting the accuracy of mathematical instruments