optic
See also: òptic
English
Etymology
From Middle French optique, from Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós, “of seeing”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɒptɪk/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑptɪk/
Adjective
optic (not comparable)
- Of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- The moon, whose orb / Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Of, or relating to optics or optical instruments.
Derived terms
Translations
of or relating to the eye or to vision
of or relating to optics or optical instruments
Noun
optic (plural optics)
- (now humorous) An eye.
- (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
- The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:
- how they, / Who saw those figures on the margin kiss all, / Could turn their optics to the text and pray, / Is more than I know […]
- 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:
- Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
- (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope
- A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
- 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.
-
- A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.
Translations
a lens
a measuring device
Further reading
- optic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- optic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- optic at OneLook Dictionary Search
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