microscope
UK /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌskəʊp/ · US /ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌskoʊp/ noun, verb
Forms microscopes microscoping microscoped
- noun An optical instrument used for observing small objects.
- noun Any instrument for imaging very small objects (such as an electron microscope).
- verb To examine with a microscope, to put under a microscope (literally or figuratively).
Synonyms
Etymology
From New Latin microscopium and Italian microscopio, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to look at”), equivalent to micro- + -scope.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An optical instrument, consisting of a lens, or combination of lenses, for making an enlarged image of an object which is too minute to be viewed by the naked eye. Compound microscope, an instrument consisting of a combination of lenses such that the image formed by the lens or set of lenses nearest the object (called the objective) is magnified by another lens called the ocular or eyepiece.
Etymology [Micro- + -scope.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “microscope”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details