optic
nounEtymology Borrowed from Middle French optique or Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτῐκός (optĭkós, “of or for sight”), from ὀπτός (optós, “visible”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, “-ic”, adjectival suffix).
- The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.1734, Alexander Pope, Of the Knowledge and Characters of Men: An Epistle to the Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount Cobham:
- how they, / Who saw those figures on the margin kiss all, / Could turn their optics to the text and pray, / Is more than I know[…]1819, Lord Byron, “Canto 1”, in Don Juan, section 46:
1 more example
- Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter 8, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
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Engineering, Natural sciences, Optics, Physical sciences, Physics A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
- The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.2013, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4, →DOI, page 270:
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A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.
Trademark in UK
- They were neatly lined up on three shelves between the optics of martini, vodka, whisky and gin.2014, M. P. Wright, Heartman:
- They pulled up two bar stools and looked around the room as the barman relieved the whisky optic of its contents.2018, Denise Mina, Exile:
- Derived terms
- optic stand