Dictionary

aperture en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈæp.ɚˌt͡ʃʊɹ/ (General-American)
• /ˈæp.ɚˌtjʊɹ/ (General-American)
• /ˈæp.ɚˌtʊɹ/ (General-American)
• /ˈap.ə.t͡ʃə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈap.ə.tjʊə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈæp.ɚ.t͡ʃɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

From late Middle English, from Latin apertūra (“an opening”), from aperiō (“to uncover, make or lay bare”) + -tūra (“-ure”, action noun suffix). Doublet of overture and apertura.

Meanings

1. A small or narrow opening, gap, slit, or hole.
   • an aperture in a wall
   • The door was opened — ‘on the chain.’ The old lady peered at us through an aperture of about six inches. 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:
   • Were the larynx of the little creature like that of the parent, the milk might—probably would—enter the windpipe and cause suffocation : but the fœtal larynx is cone-shaped, with the opening at the apex, which projects, as in the whale-tribe, into the back aperture of the nostrils, where it is closely embraced by muscles of the ‘soft palate.’ 1859, Richard Owen, On the Classification and Geographical Distribution of the Mammalia, London: J. W. Parker and Son, page 29:
   • In the centre of the fleshy membrane is an aperture leading into a deep cavity, at the bottom of which is placed a prominent piston that may be retracted by muscular fibres provided for the purpose. 1860, Samuel Hannaford, chapter 7, in Sea and River-side Rambles in Victoria, page 53:
2. A hole which restricts the diameter of the lightpath through one plane in an optical system.
3. A hole which restricts the diameter of the lightpath through one plane in an optical system. ▸ The diameter of such a hole which restricts the width of the lightpath through the whole system. For a telescope, this is the diameter of the objective lens.
   • This telescope has a 100 cm aperture.
4. (qualifier:space flight) The (typically) large-diameter antenna used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency energy containing the data used in communication satellites, especially in the geostationary belt. For a comsat, this is typically a large reflective dish antenna; sometimes called an array.
5. (of a right circular cone, rare) The maximum angle between the two generatrices.
   • If the generatrix makes an angle θ to the axis, then the aperture is 2θ.

Forms

Deriveds

apertometer · aperture membrane · aperture priority · macroaperture · pyriform aperture · apertured · apertural · endoaperture · nanoaperture · aperturate · aperture-priority · ectoaperture · subaperture · apertureless · multiaperture

Relateds

apertion · apéritif · apert · apertly · aperitive · aperient

Synonyms

chink

Translations (84)

mi pūaha (opening, hole) · pl przesłona (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · eo aperturo (opening, hole) · bg апертура (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · nn opning (opening, hole) · fi aukko (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · gv towl (opening, hole) · ru диафра́гма (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · ja 隙間 (opening, hole) · es abertura (opening, hole) · bg отвор (opening, hole) · ru проём (opening, hole) · es abierta (opening, hole) · la apertūra (opening, hole) · ru затвор (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · nb blenderåpning (diameter of the aperture) · fr ouverture (opening, hole) · es apertura (diameter of the aperture) · sv bländare (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · de Blende (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · da blænder (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · fi aukko (opening, hole) · ka ხვრელი (opening, hole) · ru отве́рстие (opening, hole) · pl szpara (opening, hole) · it apertura (opening, hole) · ka სანათური (diameter of the aperture) · nn blendarop (diameter of the aperture) · es abertura (diameter of the aperture) · pl otwór (opening, hole) · nl opening (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · da blænder (diameter of the aperture) · es abertura (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · af stralingsvlak (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · cs clona (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · ru диафра́гма (diameter of the aperture) · nb åpning (opening, hole) · mk отвор (diameter of the aperture) · es apertura (opening, hole) · pt abertura (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · de Öffnung (opening, hole) · hi द्वारक (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · pt abertura (opening, hole) · pl przysłona (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · de Blendenzahl (diameter of the aperture) · hu blende (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · hu rekesz (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · ro deschizătură (opening, hole) · nl opening (opening, hole) · fi aukon halkaisija (diameter of the aperture) · pl szczelina (opening, hole) · nl diafragma (diameter of the aperture) · sv apertur (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · nn irisblendar (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · fa روزنه (opening, hole) · sv apertur (opening, hole) · sv öppning (opening, hole) · ga cró (diameter of the aperture) · ka ჭუჭრუტანა (opening, hole) · da åbning (opening, hole) · pl przysłona (diameter of the aperture) · bg отверстие (opening, hole) · pl apertura (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · nl opening (diameter of the aperture) · sl odprtina (opening, hole) · es apertura (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · ru обтюратор (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · hi छेद (opening, hole) · fi reikä (opening, hole) · ru апертура (diameter of the aperture) · ka ნაპრალი (opening, hole) · mk отвор (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · ka სანათური (opening, hole) · nn blendaropning (diameter of the aperture) · grc τρῆμα (opening, hole) · xdq ям (opening, hole) · nl diafragma (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · nb irisblender (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · sl apertura (diameter of the aperture) · cmn 孔 (opening, hole) · ja 開口 (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane) · fr ouverture (diameter of the aperture) · pt abertura (diameter of the aperture) · cmn 光圈 (hole restricting the diameter of the lightpath through one plane)