kaleidoscope
/kəˈlaɪdəsˌkəʊp/kuh-LIGH-duh-skohp
/kəˈlaɪdəsˌkoʊp/kuh-LIGH-duh-skohp
Meaninga beautiful shape viewer
Common meaning: a tube of mirrors showing shifting patterns
- kalbeautiful, fineLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 397 · scan
- eidoshape (Greek eidos)
- scopeGreek skopein: to look at
‘beautiful, fine’ + ‘to look at’ → kaleidoscope
Journey through time
- Greekκαλός‘beautiful, fine’
- Englishkaleidoscope‘a tube of mirrors showing shifting patterns’ · today
kal also in: calligraphy
scope- also in: gyroscopetelescopemicroscope
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek καλός ‘beautiful, fine’.
Roots
- καλός Greek “beautiful, fine”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app