optics en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈɒptɪks/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈɑptɪks/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Medieval Latin opticus (“optic, optical”), from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós), equivalent to optic + -ics.
Meanings
-
(plural, singular) The physics of light and vision: basic optical science.
a PhD in the optics of liquid crystals
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(plural, singular) Technology that makes use of such physics: applied optical science; business lines making use of such technology.
defense R&D investments in both optics and electronics
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(plural, singular) The light-related aspects of a device.
The optics of this telescope are particularly good.
Digging deeper, the invention of eyeglasses is an elaboration of the more fundamental development of optics technology. The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,[…].
2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:the optics of liquid crystals under certain laboratory conditions
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(figuratively, plural, singular) Perception, image, public relations, especially in politics.
This is a trickier one for the king. The optics are bad: a disgraced prince living in the luxury of a huge crown estate property.
2025 October 20, Caroline Davies, “Dealing with ‘Andrew problem’ could help ease William’s accession to the throne”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2025:When President Obama responded to the failed Christmas airliner bombing while on vacation in his native state of Hawaii, some Republicans claimed it was “bad optics.” “Hawaii to many Americans seems like a foreign place,” the Republican strategist Kevin Madden told CNN.
2010 March 4, Ben Zimmer, “Optics”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Jul 2019:“The optics weren’t good. Next time tell them not to bring guns”
2021 February 9, David D. Kirkpatrick, Mike McIntire, quoting Mike Shirkey, “‘Its Own Domestic Army’: How the G.O.P. Allied Itself With Militants”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2021:Near-synonyms: appearances, spectacle, theatrics; choreography
[…] I'd be interested to know whether US authorities proffered any "advice" on the optics: Ixnay on the torture dungeon, […]; if you have to have victims' loved ones present, go for the widows and photogenic orphans rather than Moqtada's boys.
2007 January 1, Mark Steyn, “Blowing a 'hinge moment' of history”, in The Jerusalem Post:"There's also a gentle nod to the Vatican and Italy, which shows the Pope is not above playing a little optics - I'm sure he and the CEO of Fiat have met."
2015 September 28, Vanessa Barford, quoting Dan Neil, “Pope Francis and the little black car”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2023:His policy prescription was sound, but the optics were horrible.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| opticks | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
electrooptics · acoustooptics · fiber-optics · conformal optics · adaptive optics · fibre optics · nanooptics · magnetooptics · orthoptics · fiber optics · fibre-optics · biooptics · folded optics · heteroptics · neutron optics · spinoptics
Synonyms
appearances · spectacle · theatrics · choreography
Translations (61)
ca òptica (physics of light and vision) · ru о́птика (physics of light and vision) · it ottica (physics of light and vision) · cmn 光學 /光学 (physics of light and vision) · ja 光学 (physics of light and vision) · wo ngiste (physics of light and vision) · mr प्रकाशशास्त्र (physics of light and vision) · he תורת האור (physics of light and vision) · vro valgusõoppus (physics of light and vision) · nn optikk (physics of light and vision) · ms optik (physics of light and vision) · kn ದೃಗ್ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ (physics of light and vision) · hy օպտիկա (physics of light and vision) · te కాంతిశాస్త్రము (physics of light and vision) · is sjónfræði (physics of light and vision) · pt óptica (physics of light and vision) · el οπτική (physics of light and vision) · fi optiikka (physics of light and vision) · gur peelkarẽŋrɛ (physics of light and vision) · nl optiek (physics of light and vision) · bg оптика (physics of light and vision) · pa ਚਾਨਣ ਵਿਗਿਆਨ (physics of light and vision) · vi quang học (physics of light and vision) · cy opteg (physics of light and vision) · ar بَصَرِيَّات (physics of light and vision) · sl optika (physics of light and vision) · hi प्रकाशिकी (physics of light and vision) · he אופטיקה (physics of light and vision) · de Optik (physics of light and vision) · ml പ്രകാശശാസ്ത്രം (physics of light and vision) · nb optikk (the light-related aspects of a device) · sh optika (physics of light and vision) · he אופטיקה (the light-related aspects of a device) · hu fénytan (physics of light and vision) · ru о́птика (the light-related aspects of a device) · tl dalubsugaan (physics of light and vision) · fi valo-oppi (physics of light and vision) · tl sugaan (physics of light and vision) · ga optaic (physics of light and vision) · nl optica (physics of light and vision) · nn optikk (the light-related aspects of a device) · so araga (physics of light and vision) · nb optikk (physics of light and vision) · gu પ્રકાશવિજ્ઞાન (physics of light and vision) · es óptica (physics of light and vision) · sv optik (physics of light and vision) · pl optyka (physics of light and vision) · grc ὀπτικά (physics of light and vision) · th ทรรศนศาสตร์ (physics of light and vision) · bg оптика (the light-related aspects of a device) · hu optika (physics of light and vision) · mr प्रकाशिकी (physics of light and vision) · cs optika (physics of light and vision) · fa نورشناسی (physics of light and vision) · mk оптика (physics of light and vision) · is ljósfræði (physics of light and vision) · ko 광학 (physics of light and vision) · id optika (physics of light and vision) · pa ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਵਿਗਿਆਨ (physics of light and vision) · uk о́птика (physics of light and vision) · ga radharceolaíocht (physics of light and vision)