Plain English Meaning
A way of measuring temperature where freezing water is 32 and boiling water is 212. It is the temperature scale most Americans grew up with.
Full Definition
A temperature scale on which, at standard sea level pressure, water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. Commonly used in the United States and abbreviated °F.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft performance discussions and charts when temperature is shown in degrees Fahrenheit, such as the standard sea-level temperature of 59 °F.
Derivation
Named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, an 18th-century German physicist who developed the scale and the mercury thermometer. Knowing the name comes from a person, not a technical word, helps avoid trying to read meaning into the word itself.
Why Pilots Care
US and tables are often in Fahrenheit, directly affecting , , and predictions.