calibre

Where does the word "calibre" come from? It comes from Arabic qalib, passing through French before entering English (1500s).

Calibre’s story begins in Arabic: qalib meant “a mold, a form.” A mold used for casting metal, especially for shaping bullets. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as calibre. Came via Italian 'calibro' as gunnery developed in the 1500s. It reached English by 1500s as caliber. Settled as the word for a firearm's bore diameter, later a measure of quality. Today, calibre means the diameter of a gun's barrel, or a measure of someone's ability or worth.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval qalib "a mold, a form", a mold used for casting metal, especially for shaping bullets.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1500s calibre "the internal diameter of a tube or barrel", came via Italian 'calibro' as gunnery developed in the 1500s.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s caliber "the diameter of a gun's bore, or a measure of quality", settled as the word for a firearm's bore diameter, later a measure of quality.