temporal thermometer

noun

variants or temporal artery thermometer

plural temporal thermometers or temporal artery thermometers

: a handheld thermometer that measures the temperature of a branch of the superficial temporal artery by pointing an infrared scanner directly at the forehead or lightly passing the scanner across the skin of the forehead : forehead thermometer

In one study published last year in the American Journal of Critical Care, both oral and temporal artery thermometers were more accurate and precise than temperatures taken in the ear or under the armpit.

—Judy Foreman

White House officials greeted staff and journalists as they arrived Monday by swiping their foreheads with a temporal thermometer. Only those with a reading of 99.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37.6 degrees Celsius) or below were allowed into the complex.

—Darlene Superville

Word History

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above