Refine this word faster
Prism
Definitions
- 1 A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.; An object having the shape of a geometrical prism (sense 1).
- 2 optical device having a triangular shape and made of glass or quartz; used to deviate a beam or invert an image wordnet
- 3 A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.; A cutting (“open passage at a level lower than the surrounding terrain, dug for a canal, railway, or road to go through”) or an embankment shaped like a prism (sense 1) or a number of prisms, such that its volume can be easily calculated.
- 4 a polyhedron with two congruent and parallel faces (the bases) and whose lateral faces are parallelograms wordnet
- 5 A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.; A crystal in which the faces are parallel to the vertical axis.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.; A transparent block in the shape of a prism (sense 1), typically with triangular ends, used to reflect or refract light.
"[page 13] One of theſe Parts [of a piece of black paper] I painted vvith a red Colour and the other vvith a blevv. […] This Paper I vievved through a Priſm of ſolid Glaſs, vvhoſe tvvo Sides through vvhich the Light paſſed to the Eye vvere plane and vvell poliſhed, and contained an Angle of about Sixty Degrees: vvhich Angle I call the refracting Angle of the Priſm. […] [page 17] Theſe Experiments may ſuffice for the Colours of Natural Bodies. For in the Colours made by the Refraction of Priſms this Propoſition vvill appear by the Experiments vvhich are novv to follovv in the next Propoſition."
- 7 A polyhedron with parallel ends of the same polygonal shape and size, the other faces being parallelogram-shaped sides.; A transparent block in the shape of a prism (sense 1), typically with triangular ends, used to reflect or refract light.; A spectrum produced by light being refracted through a prism. archaic
"The beams, that thro' the Oriel shine, / Make prisms in every carven glass, […]"
- 8 A retroreflector (“device which reflects light back to its source with minimal scattering”) which is usually attached to a surveying pole as a target for a total station which emits a light beam at the device and calculates how long it takes to be reflected back in order to measure distance. broadly
- 9 A perspective that colours one's perception. figuratively
"I had surveyed the landscape through the prism of poetry, which tinged every object with the hues of the rainbow."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin prisma (“(geometry) prism”), from Ancient Greek πρίσμᾰ (prísmă, “anything sawn; sawdust; (Koine, geometry) prism”), from πρῐ́ζω (prĭ́zō) (a variant of πρῑ́ω (prī́ō, “to saw”), further etymology unknown) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming neuter nouns denoting the effect or result of an action, etc.).
See also for "prism"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: prism