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[pluhm-ing] /ˈplʌm ɪŋ/

noun
1.
the system of pipes and other apparatus for conveying water, liquid wastes, etc., as in a building.
2.
the work or trade of a .
3.
act of a person who , as in ascertaining depth.
[pluhm] /plʌm/
noun
1.
a small mass of lead or other heavy material, as that suspended by a line and used to measure the depth of water or to ascertain a vertical line.
Compare .
adjective, Also, .
2.
true according to a plumb line perpendicular.
3.
Informal. downright or absolute.
adverb, Also, .
4.
in a perpendicular or vertical direction.
5.
exactly, precisely, or directly.
6.
Informal. completely or absolutely:
She was plumb mad. You’re plumb right.
verb (used with object)
7.
to test or adjust by a plumb line.
8.
to make vertical.
9.
Shipbuilding. (def 32).
10.
to sound with or as with a plumb line.
11.
to measure (depth) by sounding.
12.
to examine closely in order to discover or understand:
to plumb someone’s thoughts.
13.
to seal with lead.
14.
to weight with lead.
15.
to provide (a house, building, apartment, etc.) with .
verb (used without object)
16.
to work as a plumber.
Idioms
17.
out of / off plumb, not corresponding to the perpendicular; out of true.
/ˈplʌmɪŋ/
noun
1.
Also called plumbery. the trade or work of a plumber
2.
the pipes, fixtures, etc, used in a water, drainage, or gas installation
3.
the act or procedure of using a plumb to gauge depth, a vertical, etc
/plʌm/
noun
1.
a weight, usually of lead, suspended at the end of a line and used to determine water depth or verticality
2.
the perpendicular position of a freely suspended plumb line (esp in the phrases out of plumb, off plumb)
adjective
3.
(prenominal) (informal, mainly US) (intensifier): a plumb nuisance
adverb
4.
in a vertical or perpendicular line
5.
(informal, mainly US) (intensifier): plumb stupid
6.
(informal) exactly; precisely (also in the phrase plumb on)
verb
7.
(transitive) often foll by up. to test the alignment of or adjust to the vertical with a plumb line
8.
(transitive) to undergo or experience (the worst extremes of misery, sadness, etc): to plumb the depths of despair
9.
(transitive) to understand or master (something obscure): to plumb a mystery
10.
to connect or join (a device such as a tap) to a water pipe or drainage system
n.

mid-15c., “the weighting of a fishing line,” verbal noun from plumb (v.). Specific meaning “water and drainage pipes” is recorded by 1875, American English.

THE apparatus by which the water from a reservoir is carried about over a building and delivered at points convenient for use, is called by the general name of plumbing. The word “plumbing” means lead-work; and it is used to signify this water apparatus of a house because the pipes of which it largely consists are usually made of lead. [Edward Abbott, “Long Look House: A Book for Boys and Girls,” Boston, 1877]

Alternative plumbery also is mid-15c. Slang meaning “a person’s reproductive organs” attested by 1975.

n.

“lead hung on a string to show the vertical line,” early 14c., from Old French *plombe, plomee “sounding lead,” and directly from Late Latin *plumba, originally plural of Latin plumbum “lead (the metal), lead ball; pipe; pencil,” a word of unknown origin, related to Greek molybdos “lead” (dialectal bolimos) and perhaps from an extinct Mediterranean language, perhaps Iberian.
v.

early 15c., “to sink” (like lead), from plumb (n.). Meaning “take soundings with a plumb” is first recorded 1560s; figurative sense of “to get to the bottom of” is from 1590s. Related: Plumbed; plumbing.
adj.

“perpendicular, vertical,” mid-15c., from plumb (n.). The notion of “exact measurement” led to extended sense of “completely, downright” (1748), sometimes spelled plump, plum, or plunk.

noun

adverb

Completely; entirely; stone: What he said was plumb silly

[1748+; fr notions of exact extent and precision associated with the plumb bob or sailor’s plumb line (for measuring depth of water), ultimately fr Latin plumbum, ”lead”]

(Unix) Term used for shell code, so called because of the prevalence of “pipelines” that feed the output of one program to the input of another. Under Unix, user utilities can often be implemented or at least prototyped by a suitable collection of pipelines and temporary file grinding encapsulated in a shell script. This is much less effort than writing C every time, and the capability is considered one of Unix’s major winning features. A few other operating systems such as IBM’s VM/CMS support similar facilities.
The tee utility is specifically designed for plumbing.
[Jargon File]
(1995-02-23)