different between cachet vs caliber

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French cachet, first appearing in Scottish English, from 1630.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kæ??e?/, /?kæ?.e?/
• Rhymes: -æ?e?

Noun

cachet (countable and uncountable, plural cachets)

1. (archaic) A seal, as of a letter.
2. (figuratively) A special characteristic or quality; prestige.

   Synonyms: charm, je ne sais quoi, magic touch, oomph, zing

   • 2010, Peter H. Gleick, Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water, unnumbered page,

     This class of bottled water dominates the U.S. market and consumers seem to prefer the cachet of spring water to processed municipal waters.
3. (philately) A commemorative stamped design or inscription on an envelope, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage.
4. A sealed envelope containing an item whose price is being negotiated.
   • 2011, Alicia Oltuski, Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life, page 47,

     The most romantic rite of bargaining is the cachet; even its name suggests a thrilling secrecy. The cachet is used when a broker negotiates the sale of a diamond.

5. (medicine) A capsule containing a pharmaceutical preparation.
   • 1907, Pharmaceutical Journal, Volume 79, page 101,

     In order to facilitate taking by the patient, powders are often ordered to be dispensed in cachets.

   • 1915, American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record, Volume 63, page 237,

     One cachet on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, a second in one and a half hours, a third in one hour afterwards, and a fourth two hours later.

6. A hidden location from which one can observe birds while remaining unseen.
   • 1901, Henry Seebohm, The Birds of Siberia, 2011, page 81,

     On my way back to my cachet I met another party of reed-buntings, one of which I bagged; then I sat in my hiding-place for an hour, waiting for geese that never came within range.

Usage notes

Sometimes confused with cache.

Related terms

• lettre de cachet

Translations

Verb

cachet (third-person singular simple present cachets, present participle cacheting, simple past and past participle cacheted)

1. (transitive, philately) To mark (an envelope) with a commemorative stamped design or inscription.

Further reading

• Cachet (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

cacher +? -et.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.??/

Noun

cachet m (plural cachets)

1. seal
2. pill
3. cachet

Derived terms

• blanc comme un cachet d'aspirine
• lettre de cachet

Related terms

• caché
• cacheter

Further reading

• “cachet” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• catche, catché

Italian

Noun

cachet m (invariable)

1. tablet, capsule (medical)
2. fee
3. rinse (coloured, for the hair)

Anagrams

• tacche

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /?ka??t/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /?ka???t/, /?ka??t/

Verb

cachet

1. (colloquial) second-person singular conditional of cachu

Mutation

English

Alternative forms

• calibre (more common form in UK etc)

Etymology

From French calibre (“bore of a gun, size, capacity (literally, and figuratively), also weight”), from Italian calibro.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæl.?.b?(?)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?kæl.?.b?/
• Hyphenation: cal?i?bre

Noun

caliber (countable and uncountable, plural calibers) (British spelling, Australia, Canada, New Zealand)

1. Diameter of the bore of a firearm, typically measured between opposite lands.
2. The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet, a projectile, or a column.
3. A nominal name for a cartridge type, which may not exactly indicate its true size and may include other measurements such as cartridge length or black powder capacity. Eg 7.62×39 or 38.40.
4. Unit of measure used to express the length of the bore of a weapon. The number of calibres is determined by dividing the length of the bore of the weapon, from the breech face of the tube to the muzzle, by the diameter of its bore. A gun tube the bore of which is 40 feet (480 inches) long and 12 inches in diameter is said to be 40 calibers long.
5. (figuratively) Relative size, importance, magnitude.
6. (figuratively) Capacity or compass of mind.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burke to this entry?)

7. (dated) Degree of importance or station in society.

Related terms

• calibrate
• calibration
• calipers

Translations

References

• caliber in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• caliber in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Clarendon Press, 1989.

Anagrams

• calibre