Messlatte

German

Etymology

From messen (“to measure”) +‎ Latte (“batten, lath”).

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Messlatte f (genitive Messlatte, plural Messlatten)

  1. measuring pole, yardstick, especially a stationary one (e.g. for measuring body height)
    An dieser Messlatte ist eingezeichnet, wie stark in welchem Jahr das Hochwasser war.
    On this measuring pole there are marks to show how high the flooding was in what year.
  2. (high jump and pole vault also) the diagonal bar over which the athlete attempts to jump
  3. (hence figurative) threshold, bar, standard
    die Messlatte höher legen ― to raise the bar, set a higher standard

Declension

Declension of Messlatte [feminine]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Messlatte die Messlatten
genitive einer der Messlatte der Messlatten
dative einer der Messlatte den Messlatten
accusative eine die Messlatte die Messlatten

Hypernyms

Further reading

  • “Messlatte” in Duden online
  • “Messlatte” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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