Etymograph

English

monocle

Monocle comes from Late Latin monoculus ‘one-eyed’, from Latin oculus ‘eye’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *okʷ(e)los.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*okʷ(e)losreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoculus‘eye’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmonoculus‘one-eyed’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentmonocle
  5. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*okʷ(e)losreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoculus‘eye’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmonoculus‘one-eyed’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentmonocle
  5. Englishtodaysame form

The story

1886, borrowed from French monocle, from Late Latin monoculus (‘one-eyed’), from mono- (‘single’) + oculus (‘eye’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‘to see’

eye, anthropology, optics, ogle, awk, synoptic, anthropoid, 38 more

through Latin oculus ‘eye’

oculus, ocular, inoculation, doily, inoculate, 16 more

Today it means

noun A single lens, usually in a wire frame, and used to correct vision for only one eye.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *okʷ(e)los / monocle

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