optic

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See also: òptic

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Middle French optique or Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτῐκός (optikós, of or for sight), from ὀπτός (optós, visible) +‎ -ῐκός (-ikós, -ic, adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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optic (not comparable)

  1. (relational) Of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. [], London: [] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker []; [a]nd by Robert Boulter []; [a]nd Matthias Walker, [], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: [], London: Basil Montagu Pickering [], 1873, →OCLC:
      The moon, whose orb / Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.
  2. (optics, relational) Of, or relating to optics or optical instruments.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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optic (plural optics)

  1. (archaic, humorous) An eye.
    • 1734, Alexander Pope, Of the Knowledge and Characters of Men: An Epistle to the Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount Cobham:
      The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.
    • 1819, Lord Byron, “Canto 1”, in Don Juan, section 46:
      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 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter 8, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
      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."
  2. (optics) A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
    • 2013, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist[1], volume 101, number 4, →DOI, page 270:
      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.
  3. (trademark in UK) A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.
    • 2014, M. P. Wright, Heartman:
      They were neatly lined up on three shelves between the optics of martini, vodka, whisky and gin.
    • 2018, Denise Mina, Exile:
      They pulled up two bar stools and looked around the room as the barman relieved the whisky optic of its contents.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French optique.

Adjective

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optic m or n (feminine singular optică, masculine plural optici, feminine and neuter plural optice)

  1. optic

Declension

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