Etymology
From Latin tēlescopium, from Ancient Greek τηλεσκόπος or tēleskópos (far-seeing), from τῆλε or têle (afar) + σκοπέω or skopéō (I look at). Coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei.
Noun
telescope (plural telescopes)
- A monocular optical instrument that magnifies distant objects, especially in astronomy.
- Any instrument used in astronomy for observing distant objects (such as a radio telescope).
- (television) A retractable tubular support for lights.
Derived terms
- Cassegrain telescope
- Keplerian telescope
- dialytic telescope
- Dobsonian telescope
- Galilean telescope
- liquid mirror telescope
- Maksutov telescope
- Nasmyth telescope
- Newtonian telescope
- optical telescope
- radio telescope
- reflecting telescope
- refracting telescope
- Schmidt telescope
- solar telescope
- telescopic
- telescopically
- telescoping
- telescopy
- terrestrial telescope
- transit telescope
- water telescope
- X-ray telescope
- zenith telescope
Verb
telescope (third-person singular simple present telescopes, present participle telescoping, simple past and past participle telescoped)
- (transitive, intransitive) To extend or contract in the manner of a telescope.
- (transitive, intransitive)To slide or pass one within another, after the manner of the sections of a small telescope or spyglass.
- (intransitive)To come into collision, as railway cars, in such a manner that one runs into another.
- (transitive, intransitive, mathematics, of a series) To collapse, via cancellation.
Credits
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