monocle
pronunciation
How to pronounce monocle in British English:
UK [ˈmɒnəkl]
How to pronounce monocle in American English:
US [ˈmɑnəkl]
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- Noun:
- lens for correcting defective vision in one eye; held in place by facial muscles
Word Origin
- monocle (n.)
- "single eyeglass," 1886, from French monocle, noun use of adjective monocle "one-eyed, blind in one eye" (13c.), from Late Latin monoculus "one-eyed," from Greek monos "single, alone" (see mono-) + Latin oculus "eye" (see eye (n.)).That this, a hybrid, a Gallicism, and a word with no obvious meaning to the Englishman who hears it for the first time, should have ousted the entirely satisfactory eyeglass is a melancholy illustration of the popular taste in language. [Fowler]
Example
- 1. Lucky for greene , no one seemed to recognize him as a billionaire , since he was dressed in a rugby shirt as opposed to the top hat and monocle the protestors would expect from billionaires .