Late 19th century; earliest use found in John S. Billings (1838–1913). From Italian algometro (C. Lombroso 1867, in Annali universali di medicina 200 114; compare quot. 1867 at algometry, which is taken from an abstract of this article; from ancient Greek ἄλγος pain + Italian -metro, perhaps after German Algometer), with remodelling of the second element after -meter.