lens
pronunciation
How to pronounce lens in British English:
UK [lenz]
How to pronounce lens in American English:
US [lenz]
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- Noun:
- a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images
- (metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood
- biconvex transparent body situated behind the iris in the eye; it focuses light waves on the retina
- electronic equipment that uses a magnetic or electric field in order to focus a beam of electrons
Word Origin
- lens
- lens: [17] The Latin word for a ‘lentil’ was lēns; and when 17th-century scientists wanted a term for a round biconvex (lentil-shaped) piece of glass, they needed to look no further than lens. English lentil [13] itself comes via Old French from Latin lenticula, a diminutive form of lēns.=> lentil
- lens (n.)
- 1690s, "glass to regulate light rays," from Latin lens (genitive lentis) "lentil," on analogy of the double-convex shape. See lentil. Of the eye from 1719. In the vernacular of the photographer, anyone crowding to the front of a group, staring into the lens, or otherwise attracting attention to himself is known as a "lens louse." ["American Photography," vol. 40, 1946; the term dates from 1915]
Example
- 1. Realistic canon lens mug is a must-have for any photographer .
- 2. A polarizer filter or lens acts to recombine the rays .
- 3. Although still under development , this lens is aimed at treating diseases rather than monitoring them .
- 4. An ageing lens goes yellow , cloudy and hard .
- 5. The doctors then drilled a hole into it to insert a lens .