camera obscura

English

Etymology

From New Latin camera obscūra (literally “dark chamber”); compare camera.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkæm.ə.ɹə əbˈskjʊə.ɹə/, /ˌkæm.ɹə əbˈskjʊə.ɹə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkæm.ɚ.ə əbˈskjʊɚ.ə/, /ˌkæm.ɹə əbˈskjʊɚ.ə/

Noun

camera obscura (plural camerae obscurae or camera obscuras)

1. A darkened chamber in which the image of an outside object is projected and focused onto a surface.

Translations

darkened chamber in which the image of an outside object is projected and focused onto a surface

• Bulgarian: ка́мера обску́ра f (kámera obskúra)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 暗箱 (zh) (ànxiāng), 暗匣 (zh) (ànxiá)

• Finnish: neulanreikäkamera (fi), camera obscura (fi)
• French: chambre noire (fr) f
• German: Camera obscura (de) f
• Greek: σκοτεινός θάλαμος (el) m (skoteinós thálamos)
• Hebrew: לִשְׁכָּה אֲפֵלָה f (lishká afelá)
• Hungarian: sötétkamra (hu)
• Italian: camera oscura f
• Polish: camera obscura (pl) f
• Portuguese: câmera escura f, câmara escura f
• Russian: ка́мера-обску́ра (ru) f (kámera-obskúra)
• Spanish: cámara oscura f
• Welsh: siambr dywyll f

Latin

Etymology

From Latin camera + obscūra (“dark chamber”), first used by Johannes Kepler in his 1604 treatise on optics, Ad Vitellionem paralipomena quibus astronomiae pars optica traditur.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈka.mɛ.ra ɔpˈskuː.ra]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkaː.me.ra obˈskuː.ra]

Noun

camera obscūra f (genitive camerae obscūrae); first declension

1. (New Latin) A darkened chamber in which the image of an outside object is projected and focused onto a surface.