télescope

Forms

télescope m (plural télescopes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin telescopium, first recorded in 1609 according to the TLFi and in 1611, in a book printed in Rome, according to Rey and Bloch and Wartburg, probably by way of Italian telescopio, the word spread by Galileo's work and found in his writings from 1611.^[2][3][4] Rey, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert leave open whether French took the Italian or the Latin word.^[3][5][6] It was coined from Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle, “far, far off”) and σκοπέω (skopéō, “to look at, examine”).^[2][3][7][8]

The sense “telescope fish” goes with English telescope, used of a carp with bulging eyes from 1804, and the sense of fitting tubes with English uses of the word for objects with parts that slide into one another (1874).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the chronicles of Jean Tarde, of the instrument with which Galileo observed distant objects and the stars: La lunette qu'il appelle en un mot telescope “the spyglass that he calls, in one word, telescope”.^[4][2][3] The TLFi dates the text 1614–36, Rey and the Petit Robert 1614, Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF 1611.^{[2][3][6][4][5][9]}

Semantic evolution

At first the word named any optical instrument for looking at distant objects, the refracting lunette included; this use is now dated.^[2][9] From 1720 (télescope à réflexion) it named a distinct instrument using mirrors, which shortens the distance between objective and eyepiece,^[2][3] and usage came to reserve télescope for mirror instruments and lunette for lens instruments.^[7][6]

The name passed to fish with protruding eyes (pomatome télescope 1810, cyprin télescope 1872)^[2] and later (1906) to fittings made of tubes that slide into one another.^[2] The télescope électronique is recorded in 1949.^[9] Littré also gives the word as the name of a small southern constellation.^[7]

Timeline

• 1609 – Federico Cesi's Latin telescopium, according to the TLFi.^[2]
• 1614 – Jean Tarde uses telescope of Galileo's instrument.^[3][6]
• 1666 – The derivative télescopique is recorded.^[3]
• 1720 – Télescope à réflexion names the reflecting telescope.^[2][3]
• 1810 – Pomatome télescope names a fish.^[2]
• 1873 – The verb télescoper is borrowed from American English.^[3][4]
• 1906 – Cheminée à télescope “telescoping chimney” is recorded.^[2]
• 1949 – Larousse records télescope électronique.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An optical instrument with a mirror as its objective, used to observe the stars; a reflecting telescope, as opposed to the lunette, as in L'observatoire vient d'installer un nouveau télescope.^[6][10][11]
2. (dated) Any instrument for observing distant objects, especially a spyglass made of tubes that slide into one another.^[2][9][1]
3. (zoology) A goldfish with protruding eyes.^[2]

Word family

• télescopique
• télescoper

Related words

• radiotélescope
• lunette
• microscope
• Ancient Greek τῆλε (têle)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 507a
9. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)