dumpy level

noun

Surveying.

1. an instrument consisting of a spirit level mounted under and parallel to a telescope, the latter being rigidly attached to its supports.

dumpy level

noun

1. surveying a levelling instrument consisting of a horizontal telescope with various rotational arrangements and a spirit level

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumpy level¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Water from its dumpy level Shall elevate each thirsty soul: And if dull care approach our revel, We'll drown it in the sugar bowl.

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He knew every subtle incline of the seven or eight miles of ground between Hintock and Sherton Abbas—the market-town to which he journeyed—as accurately as any surveyor could have learned it by a Dumpy level.

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