optical

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɒptɪkəl/ (UK); /ˈɑptɪkəl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is optic with the suffix -al.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to sight, visual; relating to sight and the action of light; and treating of or skilled in optics: all 1570 in the OED, the 1560s in Etymonline.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Constructed to assist the sight, as a lens or instrument, is from 1610.^[5] An optical illusion is attested by 1757,^[2] and in astronomy an optical double star, one that only appears double because the two lie in the same line of sight, by 1868.^[2] Use with electromagnetic radiation other than light is from 1933,^[5] optical brightener for textiles from 1947,^[5] and of a kind of abstract art using optical effects from 1964.^[5][2]

Timeline

• 1570 – visual; of optics.^[5]
• 1610 – aiding sight.^[5]
• 1757 – optical illusion.^[2]
• 1868 – optical double star.^[2]
• 1964 – optical art.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Relating to sight; visual.
2. Designed to aid sight, as a lens.
3. Relating to optics or to visible light.
4. Using light-sensitive devices, as an optical scanner.

Word family

• optically
• nonoptical
• suboptical
• floptical disk
• optical activity
• optical art
• optical astronomy
• optical character recognition

Related words

• optic
• optics
• optician
• optometry

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press