optical
English meaning: Optical
Definition
Of, or relating to sight; visual.
Example
“Strabismus is an optical defect.”
Another example: “Data is transmitted as pulses of light through an optical fibre.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A technical-to-neutral adjective relating to sight, light or vision, and to instruments and fibres that use light. Common in science, medicine and technology ('optical illusion', 'optical fibre', 'optical drive').
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Medieval Latin 'opticus', from Greek 'optikos' (of sight), from 'optos' (seen); in English from the early 17th century.
Synonyms
- optic
- ocular
- visual
- ophthalmic
Related Words
- tweezers
- aberrations
- ocr
- viewfinder
- interferometer
- fiber
- tomography
- waveguide
- refractive
- microscopy
Common Collocations
- optical illusion
- optical fibre
- optical instrument
- optical drive
- optical character recognition
- optical density
Word Forms
optical (adj); optic (adj); optically (adv); optics (n)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B