Origin of telescope

1610–20; tele-1 + -scope; replacing telescopium (< New Latin; see -ium) and telescopio (< It)

OTHER WORDS FROM telescope

non·tel·e·scop·ing, adjective

Words nearby telescope

telergy, teleroentgenography, teles pires, telesales, telescience, telescope, telescope eyes, telescope peak, telescopic, telescopic sight, telescopium

Words related to telescope

abbreviate, shorten, restrict, wrap, cram, constrict, squeeze, shrink, summarize, curtail, compress, thicken, curl, crimp, knit, bend, tuck, consolidate, wedge, cramp

Example sentences from the Web for telescope

British Dictionary definitions for telescope

telescope
/ (ˈtɛlɪˌskəʊp) /

noun

an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and brighter by use of a combination of lenses (refracting telescope) or lenses and curved mirrors (reflecting telescope) See also terrestrial telescope, astronomical telescope, Cassegrain telescope, Galilean telescope, Newtonian telescope
any instrument, such as a radio telescope, for collecting, focusing, and detecting electromagnetic radiation from space

verb

to crush together or be crushed together, as in a collision the front of the car was telescoped by the impact
to fit together like a set of cylinders that slide into one another, thus allowing extension and shortening
to make or become smaller or shorter the novel was telescoped into a short play

Word Origin for telescope

C17: from Italian telescopio or New Latin telescopium, literally: far-seeing instrument; see tele-, -scope

Scientific definitions for telescope

telescope
[ tĕl′ĭ-skōp′ ]

An arrangement of lenses, mirrors, or both that collects visible light, allowing direct observation or photographic recording of distant objects.♦ A refracting telescope uses lenses to focus light to produce a magnified image. Compound lenses are used to avoid distortions such as spherical and chromatic aberrations.♦ A reflecting telescope uses mirrors to view celestial objects at high levels of magnification. Most large optical telescopes are reflecting telescopes because very large mirrors, which are necessary to maximize the amount of light received by the telescope, are easier to build than very large lenses.
Any of various devices, such as a radio telescope, used to detect and observe distant objects by collecting radiation other than visible light.

Cultural definitions for telescope

telescope

A device used by astronomers to magnify images or collect more light from distant objects by gathering and concentrating radiation. The most familiar kind of telescope is the optical telescope, which collects radiation in the form of visible light. It may work by reflection, with a bowl-shaped mirror at its base, or by refraction, with a system of lenses. Other kinds of telescopes collect other kinds of radiation; there are radio telescopes (which collect radio waves), x-ray telescopes, and infrared telescopes. Radio and optical telescopes may be situated on the Earth, since the Earth's atmosphere allows light and radio waves through but absorbs radiation from several other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. X-ray telescopes are placed in space.