Caliber compasses. See Calipers. -- Caliber rule, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely. -- A ship's caliber, the weight of her armament.
Cal"i*brate (?), v. i. To ascertain the caliber of, as of a thermometer tube; also, more generally, to determine or rectify the graduation of, as of the various standards or graduated instruments.
Cal`ibra"*tion (?), n. The process of estimating the caliber a tube, as of a thermometer tube, in order to graduate it to a scale of degrees; also, more generally, the determination of the true value of the spaces in any graduated instrument.
Cal"ice (?), n. [See Calice.] See Chalice.
Cal"i*cle (?), n. [L. caliculus a small cup, dim. of calicis, a cup. Cf Calycle.] (Zo÷l.) (a) One of the small cuplike cavities, often with elevated borders, covering the surface of most corals. Each is formed by a polyp. (b) One of the cuplike structures inclosing the zooids of certain hydroids. See Campanularian. [Written also calycle. See Calycle.]
Cal"i*co (?), n.; pl. Calicoes (#). [So called because first imported from Calicut, in the East Indies: cf. F. calicot.] 1. Plain white cloth made from cotton, but which receives distinctive names according to quality and use, as, super calicoes, shirting calicoes, unbleached calicoes, etc. [Eng.]
The importation of printed or stained colicoes appears to have been coeval with the establishment of the East India Company
. Beck (Draper's Dict. ).