laser English · revision 6853

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=acronym|attested=1957}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈleɪz.ə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈleɪzɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an acronym of “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) on the pattern of [[maser]] (1955).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A device that emits an intense, narrow, coherent beam of light: 1960 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) MWU dates it to 1957.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Compounds such as ''laser beam'' and ''laser-guided'' are from 1963,^(OED 1989) and the back-formed verb [[lase]] by 1962.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A ''laser gun'' first meant the device and then, in science fiction, a ray gun (1961).^(OED 1989) The ''laser disc'' is from 1980.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1957 – first use (MWU).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1960 – the device.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1962 – lase.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1963 – laser beam.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1980 – laser disc.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A device that produces an intense, narrow beam of [[light]] of a single wavelength, by stimulating atoms to emit [[radiation]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To treat or cut with a laser.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lase]]

+ * [[maser]]

+ * [[laser beam]]

+ * [[laser disk]]

+ * [[laser printer]]

+ * [[excimer laser]]

+ * [[laser disc]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[radar]]

+ * [[sonar]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An older, unrelated laser was a gum resin from a North African plant, silphium, used medicinally by the Romans; it is from Latin laser and recorded in English from about 1420.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}