Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “optical” come from?

Optical derives from English optic, from German Aldehyd, from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός, from ὀπτός, from ὀπτάω, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wékʷ-.

optical (English): Of, or relating to sight; visual; Designed to...

Definitions

  1. Of, or relating to sight; visual; Designed to...

Ancestry of “optical”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ál—
2EnglishaldehydeAny of a large class of reactive organic...
3GermanAldehydaldehyde
4Latinalcoholkohl, collyrium, stibium; any other powder...
5Andalusian Arabicكُحُول—
6Arabicكحلantimony; kohl, stibnite; black coloring of the...
7Arabicكُحْلantimony; kohl, stibnite
8Akkadianguḫlum—

Words derived from “optical”

  • optically
  • electrooptical
  • opticality
  • nonoptical
  • magnetooptical
  • quasioptical
  • autoptically
  • autoptical
  • electrooptically
  • suboptical
  • magnetoptical
  • optical glass
  • non-optical
Every word from Akkadian guḫlum →