This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
etalon
[ eyt-l-on ]
/ ˈeɪt lˌɒn /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun Optics.
an interferometer consisting of two glass plates that reflect approximately half of each ray of light incident upon them and that are separated by a small, fixed distance: used to compare wavelengths and to study atomic spectra.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of etalon
1900–05; <French; Middle French estalon standard, derivative of Old French estal place <Germanic; see stall1
Words nearby etalon
etaerio, étagère, e-tail, e-tailing, et al., etalon, eta meson, etamine, etanercept, etaoin shrdlu, eta particle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
British Dictionary definitions for etalon
etalon
/ (ˈɛtəˌlɒn) /
noun
physics a device used in spectroscopy to measure wavelengths by interference effects produced by multiple reflections between parallel half-silvered glass or quartz plates
Word Origin for etalon
C20: French étalon a fixed standard of weights and measures, from Old French estalon; see also stallion
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