Gunter's line

English

WOTD – 9 April 2021

Etymology

Gunter’s lines are visible on this drawing of a Gunter’s scale (right, marked “Fig. 35”).[n 1]

From Gunter +‎ -'s +‎ line, from the surname of the English clergyman, geometer, and mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1628), the inventor of the Gunter’s scale.[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɡʌntəz ˈlaɪn/, /ˌɡʊn-/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɡʌntɚz ˈlaɪn/, [-ɾɚz-]
Rhymes: -aɪn
Hyphenation: Gun‧ter's line

Noun

Gunter's line (plural Gunter's lines)

(mathematics) A logarithmic line on a Gunter's scale, which is used to perform the multiplication and division of numbers mechanically with only dividers.
Synonyms: Gunter's proportion, line of lines, line of numbers

Related terms

Gunter's chain
Gunter's proportion
Gunter's quadrant
Gunter's rule
Gunter's scale

Translations

logarithmic line on a Gunter’s scale

Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: hêla Gunterî f, xeta Gunterî f

Notes

From E[phraim] Chambers (1728) Cyclopædia: Or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […], volume II, London: […] James and John Knapton [et al.], OCLC 951657352, plate between pages 252 and 253.

References

“Gunter's line” under “Gunter, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2019.

Anagrams

telenursing

[n1-1] From E[phraim] Chambers (1728) Cyclopædia: Or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […], volume II, London: […] James and John Knapton [et al.], OCLC 951657352, plate between pages 252 and 253.

[2] “Gunter's line” under “Gunter, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2019.