Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Lens

Lens

(lĕnz)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Lenses
(-ĕz)
.
[L.
lens
a lentil. So named from the resemblance in shape of a double convex lens to the seed of a lentil. Cf.
Lentil
.]
(Opt.)
A piece of glass, or other transparent substance, ground with two opposite regular surfaces, either both curved, or one curved and the other plane, and commonly used, either singly or combined, in optical instruments, for changing the direction of rays of light, and thus magnifying objects, or otherwise modifying vision. In practice, the curved surfaces are usually spherical, though rarely cylindrical, or of some other figure.
Lenses
☞ Of spherical lenses, there are six varieties, as shown in section in the figures herewith given: viz.,
a
plano-concave;
b
double-concave;
c
plano-convex;
d
double-convex;
e
converging concavo-convex, or converging meniscus;
f
diverging concavo-convex, or diverging meniscus.
Crossed lens
(Opt.)
,
a double-convex lens with one radius equal to six times the other.
–
Crystalline lens
.
(Anat.)
See
Eye
.
–
Fresnel lens
(Opt.)
,
a compound lens formed by placing around a central convex lens rings of glass so curved as to have the same focus; used, especially in lighthouses, for concentrating light in a particular direction; – so called from the inventor.
–
Multiplying lens
or
Multiplying glass
(Opt.)
,
a lens one side of which is plane and the other convex, but made up of a number of plane faces inclined to one another, each of which presents a separate image of the object viewed through it, so that the object is, as it were, multiplied.
–
Polyzonal lens
.
See
Polyzonal
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Lens

LENS

,
Noun.
plu.
lenses. [L. lens, a lentil.] A transparent substance, usually glass, so formed that rays of light passing through it are made to change their direction, and to magnify or diminish objects at a certain distance. Lenses are double-convex, or convex on both sides; double-concave, or concave on both sides; plano-convex, or plano-concave, that is, with one side plane, and the other convex or concave; or convex on one side and concave on the other; the latter is called a meniscus.

Definition 2024

Lens

Lens

See also: lens, lēns, and Lëns

Translingual

Lens culinaris

Proper noun

Lens f

  1. A taxonomic genus within the family Fabaceae – the lentils.

Hypernyms

Hyponyms

French

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Lens m

  1. A city in, and the capital of, the French department Pas-de-Calais.

Derived terms

Anagrams

lens

lens

See also: lēns, Lens, and Lëns

English

The lenses in bifocals bend light, distorting the appearance of the background.

Noun

lens ‎(plural lenses or (obsolete) lens)

  1. An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.
    • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
      Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.
  2. A device which focuses or defocuses electron beams.
  3. (geometry) A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.
  4. (biology) A genus of the legume family; its bean.
  5. (anatomy) The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.
    • 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
      The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.
  6. (earth science) A body of rock, ice, or water shaped like a convex lens.
  7. (by extension, figuratively) A way of looking, literally or figuratively, at something.
    • 2004 April 11, Ann Hulbert, “Are the Kids All Right?”, in The New York Times Magazine, page 11:
      If "the public looks at the condition of America's children largely through a negative lens," worries Child Trends […] , "it may be more difficult to […] promote child well-being."

lens

  1. (obsolete) plural of lens

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

lens ‎(third-person singular simple present lenses, present participle lensing, simple past and past participle lensed)

  1. (transitive) To film, shoot.
  2. (geology) To become thinner towards the edges.

Translations

Danish

Noun

lens n

  1. genitive singular indefinite of len
  2. genitive plural indefinite of len

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛns

Etymology 1

Latin lēns ‎(“lentil”).

Noun

lens c ‎(plural lenzen, diminutive lensje n)

  1. (optics) optical lens
  2. crystalline lens in the eye
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

lens m ‎(plural lenzen, diminutive lensje n)

  1. harpoon

Etymology 3

Noun

lens c ‎(plural lenzen, diminutive lensje n)

  1. alternative form of luns

Etymology 4

Adjective

lens ‎(comparative lenzer, superlative meest lens or lenst)

  1. empty
Inflection
Inflection of lens
uninflected lens
inflected lenze
comparative lenzer
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial lens lenzer het lenst
het lenste
indefinite m./f. sing. lenze lenzere lenste
n. sing. lens lenzer lenste
plural lenze lenzere lenste
definite lenze lenzere lenste
partitive lens lenzers —
Derived terms

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

From a Proto-Indo-European root shared by German Linse, Lithuanian lęšis and Ancient Greek λάθυρος ‎(láthuros).

Pronunciation

Noun

lēns f ‎(genitive lentis); third declension

  1. A lentil bean.

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative lēns lentēs
genitive lentis lentum
dative lentī lentibus
accusative lentem lentēs
ablative lente lentibus
vocative lēns lentēs

Derived terms

Descendants

Noun

lēns f ‎(genitive lendis); third declension

  1. nit (egg of a louse)

Descendants

  • Portuguese: lêndea
  • Romanian: lindină
  • Sicilian: lìnnina, dìndina
  • Spanish: liendre
  • Venetian: léndena, géndena

References

Turkish

Noun

lens ‎(definite accusative lensi, plural lensler)

  1. contact lens

Declension

Synonyms

Etymology

Latin lens ‎(“a lentil bean”)

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