plumb-, plumbo-, plumbi- +
(Latin: lead, the metal; Pb)
1. Imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance: Sharon carried herself with the dignity and aplomb of a born leader.
2. Great coolness and composure under stress: Hank's nonchalance and aplomb during hard times has always been his best character trait.
3. Self-confident assurance; poise: Samuel conducted the business meeting with his characteristic aplomb or calmness.
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2. Great coolness and composure under stress: Hank's nonchalance and aplomb during hard times has always been his best character trait.
3. Self-confident assurance; poise: Samuel conducted the business meeting with his characteristic aplomb or calmness.
James was told to use aplomb even when he was under the most difficult pressures to complete his homework for school.
4. Etymology: from French; literally, "perpendicularity", from the phrase à plomb, "poised upright, balanced"; literally, "on the plumb line"; from Latin ad-, "to" + plomb, "lead weight"; and from Latin plumbum, "(the metal) lead"; of which the weight at the end of a line was made.Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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plum, plum, plumb
plum (PLUM) (noun)
The edible part of a tree which developed from a flower and is smooth-skinned with a large seed or pit in the middle: Ingrid has a plum tree in her garden which yields delicious purple fruit.
plum (PLUM) (adjective)
Descriptive of a color that is dark reddish or purple in tone: Cleo's winter coat was of a lovely plum shade and looked nice with the white fur collar.
plumb (PLUM) (noun)
1. A weight on the end of a line, employed to ascertain water depth: The captain of the ship dropped the plumb to determine how deep the river was.
2. A small piece of lead, on the end of a cord or piece of string, used especially by carpenters and masons to determine a true vertical: The builders used a plumb quite often so they could be sure that the structure was straight and not leaning.
2. A small piece of lead, on the end of a cord or piece of string, used especially by carpenters and masons to determine a true vertical: The builders used a plumb quite often so they could be sure that the structure was straight and not leaning.
When Aaron had to survey the site of the accident, he didn't have a professional plumb with him; so, he improvised and used the seed of a plum suspended from a string.
plumb (adjective)
1. A reference to being exactly vertical or standing perfectly straight and not leaning in any way: "The tower of Pisa is not plumb."
2. Of or relating to the position of an object or structure which is vertical; as determined by a plumb bob (weight attached to a plumb line measuring its vertical center): "The carpenter determined that the walls were off plumb or leaning and not straight."
2. Of or relating to the position of an object or structure which is vertical; as determined by a plumb bob (weight attached to a plumb line measuring its vertical center): "The carpenter determined that the walls were off plumb or leaning and not straight."
plumb (adverb)
1. Exactly straight down or up or in a perfectly vertical position: "The carpenter set the board plumb."
2. In the U.S., informal and old-fashioned; to a complete degree or completely: "She plumb forgot to bring the book with her."
2. In the U.S., informal and old-fashioned; to a complete degree or completely: "She plumb forgot to bring the book with her."
"They were plumb exhausted after the long walk."
plumb (s), plumbs (pl) (noun forms)
1. A weight on the end of a line, used to determine water depth.
2. A weight on the end of a line, used especially by masons and carpenters to establish a true vertical.
3. That which is in a vertical or a perpendicular line.
2. A weight on the end of a line, used especially by masons and carpenters to establish a true vertical.
3. That which is in a vertical or a perpendicular line.
plumb bob (s), plumb bobs (pl) (noun forms)
Usually a globular, conical, pointed, or pear-shaped metal weight attached to the end of a plumb line and which is used to determine its vertical center.
plumb bond (s), plumb bonds (pl) (noun forms)
A masonry bond in which the vertical joints line up.
plumb level (s), plumb levels (pl); plumb rule (s), plumb rules (pl) (noun forms)
A level made up of a piece of hardwood or metal fitted with curved glass vials which are oriented horizontally and vertically in order to the frame.
The vials are filled with liquid, and an air bubble is left to aid in the determination of the horizontal plane and highest vertical point.
plumb line (s), plumb lines (pl) (noun forms)
A tool which consists of a small, heavy object attached to a string or rope and that is used especially to see if something; such as, a wall, is perfectly vertical: "All of the carpenters were using plumb lines to make sure the sides of the newly constructed houses were straight and not leaning."
plumb, plumbs, plumbed, plumbing (verb forms)
1. To determine the depth of water with a plumb; that is, "to sound the depths".
2. To test the verticality or alignment of something with a plumb.
3. To straighten or make perpendicular: "The mason will plumb up the chimney to make sure that it is straight."
4. To examine closely or deeply; to probe; that is, to succeed in fully understanding something, especially something mysterious: "The scientist spent his life plumbing the minds of criminals."
5. To seal with lead; for example, to equip something with plumbing, seal pipes with lead, or to work as a plumber: "The plumber is almost finished plumbing her apartment."
6. Etymology: the verbal use in English of "sound the depths" comes from the use of a line weighted with lead (a plumb line) to measure the depth of water and from the use of a similar line to determine the vertical positions of structures, etc.
2. To test the verticality or alignment of something with a plumb.
3. To straighten or make perpendicular: "The mason will plumb up the chimney to make sure that it is straight."
4. To examine closely or deeply; to probe; that is, to succeed in fully understanding something, especially something mysterious: "The scientist spent his life plumbing the minds of criminals."
5. To seal with lead; for example, to equip something with plumbing, seal pipes with lead, or to work as a plumber: "The plumber is almost finished plumbing her apartment."
6. Etymology: the verbal use in English of "sound the depths" comes from the use of a line weighted with lead (a plumb line) to measure the depth of water and from the use of a similar line to determine the vertical positions of structures, etc.
plumbable (adjective) (not comparable)
The ability to determine the depth of water or to establish a true vertical: The oil tank was plumbable to find out the amount of oil that was still in the tank.
plumbago (s), plumbagos (pl) (noun forms)
1. A crystalline substance said to be found in the root of a certain plant of the Leadwort (Plumbago) family.
2. Graphite; a soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings; which is fabricated into a variety of forms; such as, molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead.
3. A drawing made by an instrument with a lead point.
2. Graphite; a soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings; which is fabricated into a variety of forms; such as, molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles. Also called black lead.
3. A drawing made by an instrument with a lead point.
plumbeous (adjective)
Resembling, consisting of, or containing lead; leaden.
plumber (s), plumbers (pl) (noun forms)
1. People who install and repair the piping and fixtures used in the distribution (in and out) of water in buildings.
2. Someone who installs and repairs pipes and plumbing; originally, simply a "worker in lead"; but eventually, since water pipes were once made of lead, a "pipe-layer".
2. Someone who installs and repairs pipes and plumbing; originally, simply a "worker in lead"; but eventually, since water pipes were once made of lead, a "pipe-layer".
The Romans used lead pipes, and the word plumber comes from the Latin word plumbum, "lead".
There is no Latin, or even Indo-European, etymology for plumbum but it bears a distant similarity to the Greek word for lead, the standard form of which, molubdos, gives us the name of a chemical element in the Periodic Table, molybdenum. Two non-standard forms, molibos and especially bolimos, are even more similar to Latin.
plumbery (s), plumberies (pl) (noun forms)
1. A plumber's workshop or place of business.
2. The work, trade of a plumber, or the occupation of a plumber who installs and repairs pipes and fixtures for water or gas or sewage in buildings.
2. The work, trade of a plumber, or the occupation of a plumber who installs and repairs pipes and fixtures for water or gas or sewage in buildings.
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