Etymograph

English

telescope

Telescope comes from Latin tēlescopium, and goes back to Ancient Greek σκοπέω.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκοπέωnamed in the etymology · steps between not traced
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēlescopium
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1831telescope

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκοπέωnamed in the etymology · steps between not traced
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtēlescopium
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1831telescope

Earliest quotation: 1831, Thomas Carlyle, Symbols: “It needs a scientific telescope, it needs to be…”

A compound of τῆλε ‘afar’ + σκοπέω ‘to look at’

Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- ‘to turn, revolve’

Ancient Greek τῆλε ‘afar’

Proto-Indo-European *sḱop-

Ancient Greek σκοπός ‘watcher’

Ancient Greek σκοπέω ‘to look at’

The story

Coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei.

Every English word from Ancient Greek σκοπέω

Today it means

noun A monocular optical instrument that magnifies distant objects, especially in astronomy.

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

Etymograph / Ancient Greek σκοπέω / telescope

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