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Origin and history of Celsius

Celsius

1797 in reference to the type of thermometer; 1812 in reference to the scale of temperatures, from the name of Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744) inventor of the centigrade scale in 1742. His family name is a Latinized translation of Högen, the name of the family estate in Sweden, taken as "mound," from Latin celsus "raised, high, lofty, great" (from PIE root *kel- (2) "to be prominent; hill"). 

also from 1797

Entries linking to Celsius

centigrade(adj.)

"consisting of 100 degrees, divided into 100 equal parts," 1799, from French, from centi- "hundred" (see centi-) + second element from Latin gradi "to walk, go, step" (from PIE root *ghredh- "to walk, go"). The centigrade thermometer (see Celsius) divides the interval between the freezing and boiling points of water into 100 degrees.

*kel-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to be prominent," also "hill."

It might form all or part of: colonel; colonnade; colophon; column; culminate; culmination; excel; excellence; excellent; excelsior; hill; holm.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit kutam "top, skull;" Latin collis "hill," columna "projecting object," cellere "raise;" Greek kolōnos "hill," kolophōn "summit;" Lithuanian kalnas "mountain," kalnelis "hill," kelti "raise;" Old English hyll "hill," Old Norse hallr "stone," Gothic hallus "rock."

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    As a unit of energy, defined as "heat required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the small or gram calorie), but...as a measure of the energy-producing value of food, "heat required to raise 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius" (the large...
    demagogue
    1640s, "an unprincipled popular orator or leader; one who seeks to obtain political power by pandering to the prejudices, wishes, ignorance, and passions of the people or a part of them," ultimately from Greek dēmagōgos "popular leader," also "leader of the mob," from dēmos "peop
    save
    c. 1200, saven, "to deliver from some danger; rescue from peril, bring to safety," also "prevent the death of;" also "to deliver from sin or its consequences; admit to eternal life; gain salvation," from Old French sauver "keep (safe), protect, redeem," from Late Latin salvare "m
    serve
    late 12c., serven, "to render habitual obedience to, owe allegiance to," also "minister, give aid, give help," from Old French servir "to do duty toward, show devotion to; set table, serve at table; offer, provide with," from Latin servire "be a servant, be in service, be enslave
    bizarre
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    marry
    c. 1300, marien, of parents or superiors, "to give (offspring) in marriage," also intransitive, "to enter into the conjugal state, take a husband or wife," from Old French marier "to get married; to marry off, give in marriage; to bring together in marriage," from Latin marītāre
    perpendicular
    late 15c., perpendiculer, of a line, "lying at right angles to the horizon" (in astronomy, navigation, etc.), from an earlier adverb (late 14c.), "at right angles to the horizon," from Old French perpendiculer, from Late Latin perpendicularis "vertical, as a plumb line," from Lat
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    "police informer," 1859, American English; earlier "one who betrays the unwary (or is used to betray them)," 1821, earlier "a decoy bird" (1812), from a stool as the movable pole or perch to which a pigeon was fastened to lure wild birds. Perhaps a stool was the original device,
    stadium
    mid-14c., stadie, "a foot race, a racecourse;" early 15c., "ancient measure of distance," from Latin stadium (plural stadia) "a measure of length" (variously reckoned, commonly one-eighth of a Roman mile or a little over 600 standard English feet; translated in early English Bibl
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