diallerdialern.
/ˈdʌɪələ/, U.S. /ˈdaɪ(ə)lər/ 1. A maker of, or expert in, sundials. Cf. dialist n. Now historical.In quot. 1650 as part of an extended metaphor, with reference to the drawing of a portrait by a sundial maker; cf. dial n.1 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > making or regulating > one who makes or regulates
clockmaker1374
horologer1496
regular1513
clocksmith1556
clock setter1574
clock keeper1576
clockman1613
clock master1629
dialler1650
dialist1652
horologiographian1688
clock winder1720
horologiographer1727
horologist1798
timer1876
1650 R. Heath Occas. Poems 1 in Clarastella Drawn with black lead or with a coal Over some Alehouse chimney wal, Thy picture best will semble thee By some rough Dialler.
1660 T. White Chrysaspis sig. B2v He assumes what no Geometrician will allow, unless to Surveyers and Diallers, &c. but absolutely reject in an exact Calculation.
1725 J. Hammond Pract. Surveyor 110 The Index on the Horizon will give the Situation of the Wall, usually called by Diallers The Declination of the Plane.
1872 M. Gatty Bk. Sun-dials Introd. p. xxii. As clocks ascended into the church towers, or showed their faces in the market-places, the dialler's learned vocation gradually ceased.
1918 Francis W. Parker School Year Bk. 5 68 Experts were needed at the time sun-dials were in common use..and..these men were called dialers and held a position similar to our watchmakers of today.
1975 J. T. Fraser Of Time, Passion, & Knowl. ii. i. 49 Their [sc. the sundials'] variety was limited only by the ingenuity and interest of the dialer.
2009 R. Hannah Time in Antiq. vi. 121 The degree of abstraction which was quickly achieved by Greek diallers is well illustrated in the contrast between the two broadly contemporary sundials found at Ai Khanoum.
2. Mining. A person who makes a survey of mines with the aid of a compass or dial (dial n.1 5b). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveyor > of mines, using compass
dialler1747
1747 W. Hooson Miners Dict. sig. Riij This Roofing..if done by a skillful Dialer, and by a Dial that he is acquainted with..is certain enough.
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 204 In the same manner the Dialler takes his second measurement.
1825 J. Budge Pract. Miner's Guide 54 The dialler need only be careful to observe that the needle stands at the same degree as in the original course.
1899 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 56 386 In 1353 a dialler was sent to Liége to purchase a better surveying dial.
1980 M. Brown et al. Gloss. Mining Terms Fife 27 Dialler, a mineral surveyor.
3. A device for dialling telephone numbers automatically.automatic dialler: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > telephone equipment > [noun] > telephone > telephone facilities
automatic dialler1922
dialler1922
autodial1934
autodialler1960
redial1960
auto-answer1961
hold1965
camp-on1975
caller ID1978
voicebank1988
1922 Pacific Telephone Mag. Nov. 49/1 An automatic dialer was used, so that the model was in operation at all times during the entire five days of the fair.
1939 New Yorker 10 June 13/3 One of the reasons the Telephone Company hates the diallers is that to change a number some of the insides have to be taken to a machine shop and worked over.
1969 Daily Tel. 3 Feb. 4/5 The first batch of ‘card diallers’—numbers prestored on cards which automatically dial a number when ‘punched’—is also due for field trials shortly.
2004 Independent 21 July (Review section) 10/3 Many such users have a modem connected to the phone in case the high-speed connection dies, and the dialler will dial the premium number just the same.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1650