Link Centre Dictionary

kaleidoscope

ka·lei·dos·cope

UK/kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskəʊp/ US/kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskoʊp/ rare

noun

1.

an optical toy in a tube; it produces symmetrical patterns as bits of colored glass are reflected by mirrors

Origin

The noun is derived from Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful, lovely”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form, image, shape”) + English -scope (suffix denoting an instrument used for examination or viewing), coined by the British scientist David Brewster (1781-1868) in his 1817 patent for the invention: see the quotation. The verb is derived from the noun.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.