Meaning & use
geometer
Last updated
A person, especially a mathematician, who specializes in geometry; also a moth whose caterpillar moves with a looping, measuring gait.
See it in a sentence
Euclid is remembered as one of history's greatest geometers.
The geometer moth caterpillar inches along branches, arching its body as it moves.
A note on using this word
The insect sense comes from the caterpillar's distinctive looping walk, which looks as though it is 'measuring the earth,' the literal meaning of the Greek root 'geometres.'
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. noun
A moth of the family Geometridae, whose caterpillar (inchworm) moves by looping its body.
A geometer fluttered against the porch light after dusk.
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