Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tasimer \Ta*sim"er\, n. [Gr. ? stretching, extension (from ? to
   stretch) + -meter.] (Physics)
   An instrument for detecting or measuring minute extension or
   movements of solid bodies. It consists essentially of a small
   rod, disk, or button of carbon, forming part of an electrical
   circuit, the resistance of which, being varied by the changes
   of pressure produced by the movements of the object to be
   measured, causes variations in the strength of the current,
   which variations are indicated by a sensitive galvanometer.
   It is also used for measuring minute changes of temperature.
   --T. A. Edison.