Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Dumpy level \Dump"y lev"el\ (Surv.)
A level having a short telescope (hence its name) rigidly
fixed to a table capable only of rotatory movement in a
horizontal plane. The telescope is usually an inverting one.
It is sometimes called the {Troughton level}, from the name
of the inventor, and a variety improved by one Gavatt is
known as the {Gavatt level}.
Source : WordNet®
Dumpy level
n : a surveyor's level having a short telescope fixed to a
horizontally rotating table and a spirit level