1.
[syn: slide rule, slipstick]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Slide rule \Slide" rule`\, n.
a thin, flat calculating device consisting of a fixed outer
piece and a movable middle piece. Both pieces are graduated
in such a way (as, by a logarithmic scale) that
multiplication, division, and other mathematical functions of
an input variable may be rapidly determined by movement of
the middle pieces to a location on one scale corresponding to
the input value, and reading off the result on another scale.
A movable window with a hairline assists in alignment of the
scales. This device has been largely superseded by the
electronic calculator, which has a greater precision than the
slide rule. Also called colloquially slipstick.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
slipstick
n 1: analog computer consisting of a handheld instrument used
for rapid calculations; have been replaced by pocket
calculators [syn: slide rule, slipstick]