plummet en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈplʌmət/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈplʌmɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /plʊmɪt/ (Northern-England)
Etymology
From Middle English plommet (“ball of lead, plumb of a bob-line”), recorded since 1382, from Old French plommet or plomet, the diminutive of plom, plum (“lead, sounding lead”), from Latin plumbum (“lead”). The verb is first recorded in 1626, originally meaning “to fathom, take soundings", from the noun.
Meanings
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(archaic) A piece of lead attached to a line, used in sounding the depth of water; a plumb bob or a plumb line.
He told her then of his life since he had returned to the jungle—of how he had dropped like a plummet from a civilized Parisian to a savage Waziri warrior, and from there back to the brute that he had been raised.
1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg, published March 1915, →OCLC:Iudgement also will I lay to the line, and righteousnesse to the plummet: and the haile shall sweepe away the refuge of lyes, and the waters shall ouerflow the hiding place.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 28:17:And love was the plummet dropped down into the deeps of him where like had never gone.
1906 May–October, Jack London, chapter VI, in White Fang, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC:I'le ſeeke him deeper than ere plummet ſounded, / And with him there lye mudded.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 13, column 2:Each long black hair upon his head hung down as straight as any plummet line; […]
1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 21, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:
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(archaic) Hence, any weight.
His parachute was shot half away, and if he'd jumped he would have fallen like a plummet.
1945, Ernie Pyle, Here Is Your War: Story of G.I. Joe, The World Publishing Company, page 93:
- (archaic) A piece of lead formerly used by schoolchildren to rule paper for writing (that is, to mark with rules, with lines).
- A violent or dramatic fall.
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(figuratively) A decline; a fall; a drop.
Yet another seriously under-par performance is unlikely to provide any real answers to their remarkable plummet in form - but it proves they can at least churn out a much-needed result.
2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| plummets | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (98)
scn sdirrupuni (decline, fall, drop) · ga luaidhe (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · bg тежест (any weight) · de Rickgang (decline, fall, drop) · et alang (decline, fall, drop) · de Absturz (decline, fall, drop) · scn cascata (decline, fall, drop) · scn chiummata (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nb nedstyrting (violent or dramatic fall) · et mõõn (decline, fall, drop) · de Absinken (decline, fall, drop) · scn calancu (decline, fall, drop) · de Senklot (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nb styrt (violent or dramatic fall) · ar مِطْمَار (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · scn sdirrupata (decline, fall, drop) · de Sinken (decline, fall, drop) · it declino (decline, fall, drop) · nn blylodd (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · ru отве́с (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Senkblei (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et ripats (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · scn filu a chiummu (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · cmn 鉛垂線 /铅垂线 (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · grc στάθμη (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nb lodd (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · sh ви́сак (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · he אֲנָךְ (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · bg отвес (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · bg рязко спадане (violent or dramatic fall) · grc μολύβδαινα (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · scn sbalancata (violent or dramatic fall) · et sadama (violent or dramatic fall) · it piombo (any weight) · de Abstieg (decline, fall, drop) · ota سونده (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · ru лот (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et lang (decline, fall, drop) · ar شَاقُول (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · cs olovnice (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · egy xA-A-i-i-T14-T14-V1 (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · pl ciężarek (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · ota گز (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nl schietlood (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Verfall (decline, fall, drop) · de Gewicht (any weight) · vi lập loòng (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et kukkuma (violent or dramatic fall) · ota مطمار (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et raskus (any weight) · syc ܡܰܫܩܠܳܐ (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · sv lodlina (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et nöörlood (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · pt prumo (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Senker (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et pomm (any weight) · scn tummata 'n terra (violent or dramatic fall) · it caduta (decline, fall, drop) · ga aigeach (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · sv lod (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · fr fil à plomb (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · ar مِطْمَر (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · scn sdirrupuni (violent or dramatic fall) · de Sturz (violent or dramatic fall) · scn caduta (decline, fall, drop) · mi paramu (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nn lodd (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · et viht (any weight) · ar تُرّ (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Bleigewicht (any weight) · ota اسقندیل (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · es plomada (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · scn chiummu (any weight) · ota شاقول (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · nb blylodd (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · fa شاغول (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Sturzflug (violent or dramatic fall) · fi luotilanka (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Abnahme (decline, fall, drop) · scn sdirrupata (violent or dramatic fall) · arc מַתְקוּלְתָּא (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · el αλφάδι (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · sh visak (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Blei (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · it filo a piombo (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · pl pion (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · vi dây dọi (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Lot (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · mk ви́сок (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Absturz (violent or dramatic fall) · it piombino (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · arc מַשְׁקוּלְתָּא (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · la perpendiculum (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Niedergang (decline, fall, drop) · fi koho (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · th ลูกดิ่ง (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line) · de Abfall (decline, fall, drop) · syc ܡܰܬܩܳܠܴܐ (lead on a line, plumb bob, plummet line)