Definition of "vernier" []

• A small, movable auxiliary graduated scale attached parallel to a main graduated scale, calibrated to indicate fractional parts of the subdivisions of the larger scale, and used on certain precision instruments to increase accuracy in measurement. Also called vernier scale. (noun)
• An auxiliary device designed to facilitate fine adjustments or measurements on precision instruments. (noun)
• Of, relating to, or having a vernier. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "They talked about it a lot because it was her profession, but it is the thin vernier above a much deeper reality."
• "The name vernier, now commonly applied to a small movable scale attached to a sextant, barometer, or other graduated instrument, was given by Lalande who showed that the previous name nonius, after Peter Nunez, belonged more properly to a different contrivance."
• "It will be seen that the scale proper is attached to the quartz wedge, which is moved by the milled head, and attached to the other quartz wedge is a small scale called a vernier which is fixed, and which serves for the exact determination of the movable scale with reference to it."