English

Etymology
From OE. plommet, recorded since 1382, "ball of lead, plumb of a bob-line," from OF. plommet or plomet, the diminutive of plom, plum, 'lead, sounding lead', itself from French plomb, from L. plumbum. The verb is first recorded in 1626, originally meaning "to fathom, take soundings," from the noun.

Pronunciation
audio|en-us-plummet.ogg|Audio (US)
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-�mɪt|-�mɪt

Noun
en-noun

1. archaic: A piece of lead attached to a line, used in sounding the depth of water.

#:I'll sink him deeper than e'er plummet sounded. -Shak.

1. archaic: A plumb bob or a plumb line. See under plumb, n.
2. archaic: Hence, any weight.
3. archaic: A piece of lead formerly used by school children to rule paper for writing
4. hence a plummet line, a line with a plummet; a sounding line.

Translations
trans-top|lead on a line
Dutch: schietlood
trans-mid

trans-bottom

Verb
en-verb

1. To drop swiftly, in a direct manner; to fall quickly.

#: After its ascent, the arrow plummeted to earth.

Translations

Dutch: omlaagschieten, tuimelen
Italian: precipitare
mid

Synonyms
dive
drop
fall

Antonyms
ascend
rise

See also
plumb line
plumb

References
R:Online Etymology Dictionary

et:plummet
fa:plummet
io:plummet
ru:plummet
te:plummet
vi:plummet
zh:plummet

• 2007-10-23 01:33 - AutoFormat - -{{top|lead on a line}} +{{trans-top|lead on a line}}

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