optic

English

Alternative forms

• optick (obsolete)
• optique (obsolete)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikos, “of seeing”).

Adjective

optic (not comparable)

1. Of, or relating to the eye or to vision.
   • Milton

     The moon, whose orb / Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views.

2. Of, or relating to optics or optical instruments.

Translations

of or relating to the eye or to vision

• Esperanto: optika (eo)
• German: optisch (de)

• Irish: optach (ga)

of or relating to optics or optical instruments

• Czech: optický (cs)
• Esperanto: optika (eo)

• German: optisch (de)
• Irish: optaice (ga)

Noun

optic (plural optics)

1. (now humorous) An eye.
   • Alexander Pope

     The difference is as great between / The optics seeing, as the object seen.

   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, I:

     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 […]

2. A lens or other part of an optical instrument that interacts with light.
3. A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.

Translations

an eye

• Hungarian: szem (hu)

• Italian: occhio (it) m

a lens

a measuring device

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Portuguese: ótico

Related terms

• optics
• optical

External links

• optic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• optic in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• optic at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• cop it
• picot
• topic