kaleidoscope

See also kaléidoscope

English

Wikipedia

A design seen in the kaleidoscope

The tube of a kaleidoscope

Alternative forms

• caleidoscope

Etymology

From Ancient Greek καλός (kalos, “beautiful”) + εἶδος (eidos, “shape”) (compare -oid) +‎ -scope. Coined 1817, by David Brewster, its inventor.

Figurative sense of “constantly changing pattern” attested 1819 by Lord Byron, who had received a kaleidoscope from his publisher.

Noun

kaleidoscope (plural kaleidoscopes)

1. A tube of mirrors containing loose coloured beads etc. that is rotated to produce a succession of symmetrical designs
2. A constantly changing set of colours, or other things

Translations

tube of mirrors rotated to produce symmetrical designs

• Catalan: calidoscopi
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 萬花筒 (cmn), 万花筒 (cmn) (wànhuātǒng)

• Czech: kaleidoskop (cs) m, krasohled (cs) m
• Danish: kaleidoskop (da) n
• Finnish: kaleidoskooppi (fi)
• French: kaléidoscope (fr)
• German: Kaleidoskop (de) n

• Hungarian: kaleidoszkóp (hu)
• Italian: caleidoscopio (it) m
• Japanese: 万華鏡 (ja) (まんげきょう, mangekyō)
• Kyrgyz: калейдоскоп (ky) (kalejdoskóp) m
• Polish: kalejdoskop (pl) m
• Portuguese: caleidoscópio (pt) m
• Russian: калейдоскоп (ru) (kalejdoskóp) m
• Spanish: caleidoscopio (es) m

constantly changing set

• Danish: kaleidoskop (da) n
• Finnish: kaleidoskooppi (fi)

• Polish: kalejdoskop (pl) m
• Spanish: caleidoscopio (es)

Derived terms

• kaleidoscopic

External links

• Kaleidoscope on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons