- pronunciation:
- te
l
skop
- features:
- Word History, Word Explorer, Word Parts
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition: |
an instrument that uses lenses and sometimes mirrors to make distant objects appear larger.
Powerful telescopes increase our knowledge about stars and planets.
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Galileo used the Italian word
telescopio in 1611 for the instrument that he had built. The word came from an ancient Greek word that means "far-seeing." "Telescope" was first used in English about fifty years later.