Nilometer

British  

/ naɪˈlɒmɪtə /

noun

1. archaic a graduated pillar by which the rise and fall of the Nile can be measured

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Example Sentences

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

This Nilometer is an ancient octagon pillar of red stone in the island of Rhoda, on the sides of which graduated scales are engraved.

From Visits To Monasteries in the Levant by Curzon, Robert

The priests proclaimed how the flood stood on the Nilometer, and the husbandman made corresponding preparations for a scanty or an abundant harvest.

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

The steamer was so helplessly deserted by the water, that she would have served for a Nilometer upon which to mark the level, like the rock at Assouan.

From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

This is the isle of Rodda, on the bank of which Moses was found, and where you may see the Nilometer.

From The Rulers of the Mediterranean by Davis, Richard Harding