optometry

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɒpˈtɒmɪtri/^[1]

Etymology

Formed in English from optometer (1737–38), the name of an instrument for testing vision, with the suffix -ry on the pattern of spectrometer, spectrometry,^[2][3] probably influenced by French optométrie.^[2][3] Optometer is from the combining form opto- “sight”, from Ancient Greek ὀπτός (optós, “seen, visible”), and -meter.^[4][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Measurement of the range of vision and of the powers of sight in general (1886).^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The optometer was named by the Scottish physician William Porterfield in 1738 for an instrument that measured the limits of distinct vision.^[3] From the measurement of sight, optometry came to name the profession of examining the eyes for defects of vision and prescribing corrective lenses,^[4][5][6] and in Merriam-Webster's definition also diagnosing and treating eye diseases.^[5] The practitioner, the optometrist, is recorded from 1903.^[2]

Timeline

• 1737–38 – optometer, an instrument for testing vision.^[2][3]
• 1886 – optometry.^[2][3][5]
• 1903 – optometrist.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The profession of examining the eyes for defects of vision and other disorders, prescribing corrective lenses, and in some places diagnosing and treating eye diseases; the practice of an optometrist.

Word family

• optometric
• optometrist

Related words

• optician
• optic
• ophthalmology

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House