graticule

English

WOTD – 2 November 2025

Etymology

The graticule (sense 1.2) or reticle of a Bell & Howell pocket comparator, an optical instrument used for measurement.

The graticule (sense 1.2) or reticle of the telescopic sight mounted on a SVD sniper rifle.

Borrowed from French graticule, from Medieval Latin grātīcula, from Latin crāticula (“grating, grill”), from crātis (“hurdle; wickerwork”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *kréh₂-tis (“fenced handiwork”)) + -cula (feminine form of -culus, a variant of -ulus (“diminutive suffix”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹætɪkjuːl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹætəˌkjul/, [-ɾə-]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: gra‧ti‧cule

Noun

graticule (plural graticules)

1. A grid of horizontal and vertical lines; specifically, one used as a guide to proportionately enlarge or reduce a drawing.
   1. (geography) The network of lines of latitude and longitude that make up a coordinate system such as the one used for charts and maps of the Earth.
   3. (UK, optics) Synonym of reticle (“a transparent plate marked with a crosshair, grid, or scale which is used in an optical instrument, etc., to aid in alignment, counting, or measurement of objects being observed; also, the crosshair, grid, or scale on such a plate”).

      Synonym: reticule

2. (by extension) A (nearly) rectangular or square region created by a grid of horizontal and vertical lines.

Derived terms

• graticulate
• graticuled

Related terms

• graticulation

Translations

grid of horizontal and vertical lines; specifically, one used as a guide to proportionately enlarge or reduce a drawing

• Finnish: ruudukko (fi)
• Polish: siatka (pl) f
• Russian: се́тка (ru) f (sétka)
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

network of lines of latitude and longitude that make up a coordinate system

• Arabic: غْرَاتِيكُول m (ḡrātīkūl)
• Finnish: koordinaatisto (fi), koordinaattiviivasto
• German: Gradnetz ?
• Luxembourgish: gradnetz
• Polish: siatka kartograficzna f
• Russian: координа́тная се́тка f (koordinátnaja sétka)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: stopnjowa seś

  Upper Sorbian: stopnjowa syć

• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

synonym of reticle — see reticle

(nearly) rectangular or square region created by a grid of horizontal and vertical lines

• Finnish: ruutu (fi)
• Polish: siatka nitek f

See also

• crosshair
• gradation
• graduation
• grating
• mesh

Further reading

• graticule (cartography) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• reticle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• graticule (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “graticule, n.”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• curtilage, cutigeral

French

Etymology

From Medieval Latin grātīcula, from Latin crāticula (“grating, grill”), from crātis (“hurdle; wickerwork”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European *kréh₂-tis (“fenced handiwork”)) + -cula (feminine form of -culus, a variant of -ulus (“diminutive suffix”)).

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

graticule m (plural graticules)

1. graticule

Descendants

• → English: graticule

Further reading

• “graticule”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012