vernier

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from French vernier. From Pierre Vernier, the inventor.

1. A secondary scale with finer graduations than the primary scale of a measuring device; the vernier measures between graduations of the larger scale.
2. A secondary control input with finer control than the primary, or coarse, input; for example the vernier frequency tuning knob on a radio.
3. A secondary system of force application for the attitude control of a spacecraft; for example a vernier thruster.