spirometer

English

A spirometer

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-der.?

Latin spīro

Proto-Indo-European *med-

Proto-Indo-European *meh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *-om

Proto-Indo-European *-trom

Proto-Hellenic *-tron

Ancient Greek -τρον (-tron)

Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron)lbor.

French -mètrebor.

English -meter

English spirometer

From Latin spīro (“to breathe”) + English -meter.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /spʌɪˈɹɒm.ɪt.ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /spaɪˈɹɑm.ət.ɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɒmɪtə(ɹ)

Noun

spirometer (plural spirometers)

1. (medicine) An instrument for measuring the air capacity of the lungs.
   • 2000, Michael Roberts, Michael Jonathan Reiss, Grace Monger, Advanced Biology, Nelson, page 170:

     In humans, a spirometer can be used to record and measure lung volumes and oxygen consumption (illustration 1).

   • 2002, H. Nancy Holmes (editorial director), Illustrated Manual of Nursing Practice, Wolters Kluwer Health (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins), 3rd Edition, page 154,

     While all spirometers encourage slow, sustained maximal inspiration, they can be divided into two types: flow incentive and volume incentive.

   • 2005, E. Eber, M. S. Zach, “Spirometry: Volume-Time and Flow-Volume Curves”, in Jürg Hammer, Ernst Eber, editors, Paediatric Pulmonary Function Testing, Karger Publishers, page 95:

     Wet-type spirometers (such as the classical bell spirometer with a water seal) are simple and accurate but are no longer in use as they have a hygiene problem; they are distinguished from dry-type spirometers (e.g., bellows or piston spirometer).

Derived terms

• bronchospirometer
• ergospirometer
• microspirometer

Related terms

• spirometric
• spirometry
• spiroscope

Translations

medical device

• Catalan: espiròmetre m
• Czech: spirometr m
• Finnish: spirometri (fi)
• French: spiromètre (fr) m
• Galician: espirómetro m
• Greek: σπιρόμετρο (el) n (spirómetro)
• Indonesian: spirometer (id)
• Italian: spirometro m
• Malay: spirometer
• Portuguese: espirómetro m (Portugal), espirômetro m (Brazil)
• Spanish: espirómetro m

See also

• pneumatometer
• pneumometer

References

• “spirometer”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “spirometer”, in Merriam-Webster Online, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1996–present.

Anagrams

• emperorist, spirometre, temporiser

Indonesian

Etymology

Internationalism.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /spirɔˈmɛtər/ [spi.rɔˈmɛ.t̪ər]
• Syllabification: spi‧ro‧me‧ter

Noun

spiromètêr

1. spirometer (an instrument for measuring the air capacity of the lungs)

Further reading

• “spirometer”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016