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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

di·o·ram·a

Audio Help [dahy-uh-ram-uh, -rah-muh] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a scene, often in miniature, reproduced in three dimensions by placing objects, figures, etc., in front of a painted background.

2.	a life-size display representing a scene from nature, a historical event, or the like, using stuffed wildlife, wax figures, real objects, etc., in front of a painted or photographed background.

3.	a spectacular picture, partly translucent, for exhibition through an aperture, made more realistic by various illuminating devices.

4.	a building or room, often circular, for exhibiting such a scene or picture, esp. as a continuous unit along or against the walls.

[Origin: 1815–25; < F, equiv. to di- di-³ + Gk (h)órāma view (horā-, var. s. of horân to see, look + -ma n. suffix denoting the result of action)

]

—Related forms

di·o·ram·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

di·o·ram·a Audio Help (dī'ə-rām'ə, -rä'mə) Pronunciation Key
n.

A three-dimensional miniature or life-size scene in which figures, stuffed wildlife, or other objects are arranged in a naturalistic setting against a painted background.
A scene reproduced on cloth transparencies with various lights shining through the cloths to produce changes in effect, intended for viewing at a distance through an aperture.

[French, blend of dia-, through (from Greek; see dia-) and panorama, panorama (from English; see panorama).]

di'o·ram'ic (-rām'ĭk) adj.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diorama

1823 as a type of picture-viewing device, from Fr. (1822), from Gk. di- "through" + orama "that which is seen, a sight." Invented by Daguerre and Bouton, first exhibited in London Sept. 29, 1823. Meaning "small-scale replica of a scene, etc." is from 1902.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

diorama
noun
a picture (or series of pictures) representing a continuous scene [syn: panorama]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Diorama

Di`o*ra"ma\, n. [Gr. ? to see through; ? = dia` through + ? to see; cf. ? that which is seen, a sight: cf. F. diorama. Cf. Panorama.]

1. A mode of scenic representation, invented by Daguerre and Bouton, in which a painting is seen from a distance through a large opening. By a combination of transparent and opaque painting, and of transmitted and reflected light, and by contrivances such as screens and shutters, much diversity of scenic effect is produced.

2. A building used for such an exhibition.

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