Nilometer

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.

Lanchester concludes that “words longer mean what they once did. It is not a process intended to deceive, but, like the Nilometer, it confines knowledge to a priesthood—the priesthood of people who can speak money.”

From Forbes • Aug. 7, 2014

Roda Island contains a mosque built by Kait Bey, and at its southern extremity is the Nilometer, by which the Cairenes have for over a thousand years measured the rise of the river.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various

Now they stood again in the first hall, and, pointing to the Nilometer, Amram said, "Famine!"

From Historical Miniatures by Strindberg, August

Nilometer, nī-lom′e-tėr, n. a gauge for measuring the height of water in the river Nile: any river-gauge—also Nī′loscope.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

If the Nilometer which measures the height of the flood indicates eight cubits, the crops will be scanty; but if it reaches fourteen cubits, there will be a plentiful harvest.

From History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume I (of 2) Revised Edition by Draper, John William