fiducial
Americanadjective
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accepted as a fixed basis of reference or comparison.
a fiducial point; a fiducial temperature.
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based on or having trust.
fiducial dependence upon God.
adjective
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physics used as a standard of reference or measurement
a fiducial point
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of or based on trust or faith
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law a less common word for fiduciary
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fiducial
1565–75; < Late Latin fīdūciālis, equivalent to fīdūci ( a ) trust (akin to fīdere to trust) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The university's team are also responsible for a set of fiducial markers, objects which give a point of reference to guarantee the cameras are pointing in the right direction.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2015
The church commissioners argued that it was their fiducial responsibility to maximise financial value and not to concern themselves with Hill's social vision.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 12, 2012
An Arabic name for the index or fiducial of an astronomical or geometrical instrument, carrying sight or telescope; used by early navigators.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher
When the mouth is adjusted to the lower fiducial line, the scale is exact.
From Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development by Sir Francis Galton
It gives, in short, the average tint of every unit of area in the picture, measured from the fiducial lines as co-ordinates.
From Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development by Sir Francis Galton
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