Stereoscope
/ˈstɛr.i.ə.skoʊp/noun
An optical instrument for viewing two slightly different images as a single three-dimensional image.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek stereos (“solid”) + skopein (“to look”), and the same skopein root powers a whole family of “seeing” words tied to observation, scrutiny, and surveillance.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
stereos
“solid, firm, three-dimensional”
Ancient Greek
Greek
skopein
“to look at, examine, observe”
1838
English
stereoscope
“a device for viewing paired images as a single three-dimensional picture”
19th Century
English
stereoscopic
“relating to or produced by stereoscope viewing”
Modern English
English
stereoscope
“an optical device for creating the illusion of depth from two images”
Explore more surprising origins