scope
pronunciation
How to pronounce scope in British English:
UK [skəʊp]
How to pronounce scope in American English:
US [skoʊp]
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- Noun:
- an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
- the state of the environment in which a situation exists
- a magnifier of images of distant objects
- electronic equipment that provides visual images of varying electrical quantities
Word Origin
- scope
- scope: [16] Greek skopós meant ‘target’. As it passed via Italian scopo into English it evolved metaphorically to ‘aim kept in view, goal, purpose’ (‘the seventh Council of Carthage and the Milevitane Council, which both tend to one end and scope, that there should be no appellations made out of Africa’, Nicholas Harpsfield, The Pretended Divorce between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon 1555), but the further step to ‘range’ seems to be an English development.The Greek word came from the base *skop- ‘look, observe’, which also produced -skopos ‘looking’ (ultimate source of English bishop, which etymologically denotes ‘overseer’) and -skópion ‘instrument for observing’ (which lies behind English microscope, telescope, etc). Sceptic comes from a variant of the same base.=> bishop, sceptic
- scope (n.1)
- "extent," 1530s, "room to act," from Italian scopo "aim, purpose, object, thing aimed at, mark, target," from Latin scopus, from Greek skopos "aim, target, object of attention; watcher, one who watches" from metathesized form of PIE *spek-yo-, from root *spek- "to observe" (cognates: Sanskrit spasati "sees;" Avestan spasyeiti "spies;" Greek skopein "behold, look, consider," skeptesthai "to look at;" Latin specere "to look at;" Old High German spehhon "to spy," German spähen "to spy"). Sense of "distance the mind can reach, extent of view" first recorded c. 1600.
- scope (n.2)
- "instrument for viewing," 1872, abstracted from telescope, microscope, etc., from Greek skopein "to look" (see scope (n.1)). Earlier used as a shortening of horoscope (c. 1600).
- scope (v.)
- "to view," 1807, from the source of scope (n.2). Related: Scoped; scoping.
Example
- 1. The scope of the espionage operation was staggering .
- 2. The rushmore job gives one an idea of the scope .
- 3. Scope to raise entry prices is limited by competition .
- 4. In these rules lies the scope for an upset .
- 5. The scope of the work is extraordinary .