Dictionary

stereopticon en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ster-der. Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós) Ancient Greek στερεο- (stereo-)der. English stereo- Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-der. Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek ὄψις (ópsis) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós) Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós) English stereopticon From stereo- (“three-dimensional”) + Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós, “visual”).

Meanings

1. A magic lantern, especially one with two projectors arranged so as to produce dissolving views or combinations of images.
   • Certain unscrupulous individuals grow rich through the manufacture and distribution of suggestive postcards, obscene steriopticon views, and inexcusable books and typewritten pamphlets. 1930, Jefferis & Nichols, Safe Counsel or Practical Eugenics, page 200:
   • The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

Forms

Relateds

sciopticon · balopticon · radiopticon · panopticon · stereoptician · biopticon