A cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth's center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point.

synonym: perpendicular.

Roget 212: verticality; erectness etc. adj.; perpendicularity etc. 216.1; right angle, normal; azimuth circle.    wall, precipice, cliff.    elevation, erection; square, plumb line, plummet.    ... show more

Dutch: lood, meetlood, richtlood, schietlood