binocular

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French binoculaire.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪˈnɔkjʊlə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /(ˌ)baɪˈnɑ.kjə.lɚ/, /bəˈnɑ.kjə.lɚ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

binocular (not comparable)

1. Using two eyes or viewpoints; especially, using two eyes or viewpoints to ascertain distance.

   a binocular microscope or telescope

   • 1713, W[illiam] Derham, Physico-Theology: Or, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation. […], London: […] W[illiam] Innys, […], →OCLC:

     Most animals are binocular.

   • 2013 July 9, Joselle DiNunzio Kehoe, “Cognition, brains and Riemann”, in plus.maths.org‎^[1], retrieved 8 September 2013:

     our perception of distance arises from the geometry of binocular vision and our early learning seems based on calculating probabilities.

Derived terms

• binoculared
• binocularity
• binocularly
• binocular O
• binocular vision
• binoscope
• stereobinocular

Translations

using two eyes or viewpoints

• Finnish: kaksiokulaarinen, binokulaarinen
• French: binoculaire (fr)
• German: beidäugig, binokular (de)
• Irish: déshúileach
• Italian: binoculare
• Polish: binokularny, binokularowy
• Portuguese: binocular
• Russian: бинокуля́рный (ru) (binokuljárnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dà-shùileach

Noun

binocular (plural binoculars)

1. Attributive form of binoculars.
2. A pair of binoculars.
   • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 14, in Crime out of Mind‎^[2]:

     He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, gin, whiskey, vermouth and sherry, mixed with violin bows, a flute, a toppling pile of books, six volumes of Grove's Dictionary mingled with paperback thrillers, a guitar without any strings, a pair of binoculars, a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam.

3. (dated) Any binocular glass, such as an opera glass, telescope, or microscope.

Translations

any binocular glass

• Polish: binokular (pl) m

See also

• binoculars

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

▲

Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu.

Proto-Indo-European *dwís

Proto-Italic *dwis

Old Latin duis

Latin bisbor.

Portuguese bi-

Portuguese -n-

Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-der.

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Latin -ulus

Latin oculus

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Latin -āris

Latin oculārisbor.

Portuguese ocular

Portuguese binocular

From bi- + -n- + ocular.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈlaʁ/ [bi.no.kuˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈlaʁ/ [bi.no.kuˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈlaʁ/ [bi.no.kuˈlaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈla.ɾi/

Adjective

binocular m or f (plural binoculares)

1. binocular (using two eyes or viewpoints)

Etymology 2

From binóculos + -ar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈla(ʁ)/ [bi.no.kuˈla(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈla(ʁ)/ [bi.no.kuˈla(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈla(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈla(ʁ)/ [bi.no.kuˈla(χ)]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /bi.no.kuˈla(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bi.nu.kuˈla.ɾi/

Verb

binocular (first-person singular present binoculo, first-person singular preterite binoculei, past participle binoculado)

1. to observe using binoculars

Conjugation

    Conjugation of binocular (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	binocular
Personal	binocular	binoculares	binocular	binocularmos	binoculardes	binocularem
Gerund
	binoculando
Past participle
Masculine	binoculado			binoculados
Feminine	binoculada			binoculadas
Indicative
Present	binoculo	binoculas	binocula	binoculamos	binoculais	binoculam
Imperfect	binoculava	binoculavas	binoculava	binoculávamos	binoculáveis	binoculavam
Preterite	binoculei	binoculaste	binoculou	binoculamos1, binoculámos2	binoculastes	binocularam
Pluperfect	binoculara	binocularas	binoculara	binoculáramos	binoculáreis	binocularam
Future	binocularei	binocularás	binoculará	binocularemos	binoculareis	binocularão
Conditional	binocularia	binocularias	binocularia	binocularíamos	binocularíeis	binoculariam
Subjunctive
Present	binocule	binocules	binocule	binoculemos	binoculeis	binoculem
Imperfect	binoculasse	binoculasses	binoculasse	binoculássemos	binoculásseis	binoculassem
Future	binocular	binoculares	binocular	binocularmos	binoculardes	binocularem
Imperative
Affirmative		binocula	binocule	binoculemos	binoculai	binoculem
Negative (não)		não binocules	não binocule	não binoculemos	não binoculeis	não binoculem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Further reading

• “binocular”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “binocular”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French binoculaire.

Adjective

binocular m or n (feminine singular binoculară, masculine plural binoculari, feminine/neuter plural binoculare)

1. binocular

Declension

Declension of binocular

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	binocular		binoculară	binoculari	binoculare
	definite	binocularul		binoculara	binocularii	binocularele
genitive- dative	indefinite	binocular		binoculare	binoculari	binoculare
	definite	binocularului		binocularei	binocularilor	binocularelor

Spanish

A pair of binoculars

Etymology

From French binoculaire, from bini (“double”) and oculaire (“ocular”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /binokuˈlaɾ/ [bi.no.kuˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: bi‧no‧cu‧lar

Adjective

binocular m or f (masculine and feminine plural binoculares)

1. binocular

Noun

binocular m (plural binoculares)

1. (often in plural) binoculars

   Synonym: prismáticos

Further reading

• “binocular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025