OPTICS

optics

(noun) optical properties; “the optics of a telescope”

optics

(noun) the branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

optics (uncountable)

(physics) The physics of light and vision.

The light-related aspects of a device.

(figuratively) Perception, image, public relations.

Etymology 2

Noun

optics

plural of optic

Anagrams

• copist, cops it, picots, postic, topics

Source: Wiktionary


Op"tics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. optique, L. optice, Gr. Optic.]

Definition: That branch of physical science which treats of the nature and properties of light, the laws of its modification by opaque and transparent bodies, and the phenomena of vision.

OPTIC

Op"tic, n. Etym: [From Optic, a.]

1. The organ of sight; an eye. The difference is as great between The optics seeing, as the object seen. Pope.

2. An eyeglass. [Obs.] Herbert.

Op"tic, Op"tic*al, a. Etym: [F. optique, Gr. oculus eye. See Ocular, Eye, and cf. Canopy, Ophthalmia.]

1. Of or pertaining to vision or sight. The moon, whose orb Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views. Milton.

2. Of or pertaining to the eye; ocular; as, the optic nerves (the first pair of cranial nerves) which are distributed to the retina. See Illust. of Brain, and Eye.

3. Relating to the science of optics; as, optical works. Optic angle (Opt.), the angle included between the optic axes of the two eyes when directed to the same point; -- sometimes called binocular parallax.

– Optic axis. (Opt.) (a) A line drawn through the center of the eye perpendicular to its anterior and posterior surfaces. In a normal eye it is in the direction of the optic axis that objects are most distinctly seen. (b) The line in a doubly refracting crystal, in the direction of which no double refraction occurs. A uniaxial crystal has one such line, a biaxial crystal has two.

– Optical circle (Opt.), a graduated circle used for the measurement of angles in optical experiments.

– Optical square, a surveyor's instrument with reflectors for laying off right angles.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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