lens

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a transparent optical device used to converge or diverge transmitted light and to form images
  2. noun genus of small erect or climbing herbs with pinnate leaves and small inconspicuous white flowers and small flattened pods: lentils
  3. noun (metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

lense, lens system

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