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calorie

or cal·o·ry

[kal-uh-ree]
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noun
  1. Thermodynamics.
    1. Also called gram calorie, small calorie.an amount of heat exactly equal to 4.1840 joules. Abbreviation: cal
    2. (usually initial capital letter)kilocalorie. Abbreviation: Cal
  2. Physiology.
    1. a unit equal to the kilocalorie, used to express the heat output of an organism and the fuel or energy value of food.
    2. a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy.

Origin of calorie

1800–10; < French, equivalent to calor- (< Latin calor heat) + -ie -y3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for calorie

calorie

calory

noun plural -ries
  1. a unit of heat, equal to 4.1868 joules (International Table calorie): formerly defined as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C under standard conditions. It has now largely been replaced by the joule for scientific purposesAbbreviation: cal Also called: gram calorie, small calorie Compare Calorie

Word Origin

C19: from French, from Latin calor heat

Calorie

noun
  1. Also called: kilogram calorie, kilocalorie, large calorie a unit of heat, equal to one thousand calories, often used to express the heat output of an organism or the energy value of foodAbbreviation: Cal
  2. the amount of a specific food capable of producing one thousand calories of energy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for calorie

n.

1866, from French calorie, from Latin calor (genitive caloris) "heat," from PIE *kle-os-, suffixed form of root *kele- (1) "warm" (cf. Latin calidus "warm," calere "be hot;" Sanskrit carad- "harvest," literally "hot time;" Lithuanian silti "become warm," silus "August;" Old Norse hlær, Old English hleow "warm").

In scientific use, largely replaced 1950 by the joule. As a unit of energy, defined as "heat required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the small or gram calorie), but also as "heat required to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the large calorie or kilocalorie).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
calorie in Medicine

calorie

(kăl′ə-rē)
n.
  1. A unit of energy-producing potential supplied by food and released upon oxidation by the body, equal to the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C at one atmosphere pressure.nutritionist's calorie
  2. The unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C at 1 atmosphere pressure.kilocalorie kilogram calorie large calorie
  3. Any of several approximately equal units of heat, each measured as the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C from a standard initial temperature at 1 atmosphere pressure.gram calorie small calorie
  4. The unit of heat equal to 1100 the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water from 0 to 100°C at 1 atmosphere pressure.mean calorie
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
calorie in Science

calorie

[kăl′ə-rē]
  1. A unit of energy equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. One calorie is equivalent to 4.1868 joules. Also called small calorie
  2. Calorie A unit of heat equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water by one degree Celsius. This unit is used as a measure of the energy released by food as it is digested by the human body. Also called kilocalorie large calorie
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
calorie in Culture

Calorie

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. A calorie (with a lower-case c) is a measurement of the heat needed to raise the temperature of a gram of water, rather than a kilogram.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.