lens

B2 Topic:Photography & Images

US /lɛnz/ See IPA manual

Freq #7727

Meanings

1

noun
A curved piece of glass or plastic that focuses light, used in cameras, glasses, and microscopes.

She fitted a wide-angle lens to her camera.
2

noun
The clear part inside the eye that focuses light to form images.

As we age, the lens of the eye becomes less flexible.
3

noun
A particular way of looking at or understanding something.

He views the past through the lens of his own experience.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a curved piece of glass or... lense

2 noun · the clear part inside the... crystalline lens

Word family

Forms lenses

Derived forms delensgoniolenshyperlenslensaticlensectomylenserlensfreelenshoundlenslesslensletlenslikelensmaker

Appears in

Phrases (2)

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Simplified etymology

Lens comes from Latin lens, meaning “lentil.” It was applied to a piece of shaped glass in the late 17th century because its form resembled a lentil.

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin lēns Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa)sl. Medieval Latin lēnsbor. English lens Borrowed from Latin lēns (“lentil”), with Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of “lens”, a semantic loan from Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa, “lentil; optic lens”); the similar shape is the common factor.

lēns Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Photography & Images Materials & Substances

External links

# lens

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /lɛnz/
**Frequency rank:** 7727

## Meanings
1. A curved piece of glass or plastic that focuses light, used in cameras, glasses, and microscopes.
2. The clear part inside the eye that focuses light to form images.
3. A particular way of looking at or understanding something.

## Examples
- She fitted a wide-angle lens to her camera.
- As we age, the lens of the eye becomes less flexible.
- He views the past through the lens of his own experience.

## Derived Forms
- delens
- goniolens
- hyperlens
- lensatic
- lensectomy
- lenser
- lensfree
- lenshound
- lensless
- lenslet
- lenslike
- lensmaker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lēns

## Etymology
Etymology tree Latin lēns Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa)sl. Medieval Latin lēnsbor. English lens Borrowed from Latin lēns (“lentil”), with Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of “lens”, a semantic loan from Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa, “lentil; optic lens”); the similar shape is the common factor.

## AI Etymology
Lens is borrowed from Latin lēns (“lentil”), with Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of “lens”, a semantic loan from Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa, “lentil; optic lens”); the similar shape is the common factor. The historical chain includes lēns (Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as delens, goniolens, hyperlens, and lensatic. In present use it covers a curved piece of glass or plastic that focuses light, used in cameras, glasses, and microscopes, the clear part inside the eye that focuses light to form images, and a particular way of looking at or understanding something.

## Topics
- Photography & Images
- Materials & Substances

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