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lenslike

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lens

[lenz] noun, plural lens⋅es, verb
–noun
1. a piece of transparent substance, usually glass, having two opposite surfaces either both curved or one curved and one plane, used in an optical device in changing the convergence of light rays, as for magnification, or in correcting defects of vision.
2. a combination of such pieces.
3. some analogous device, as for affecting sound waves, electromagnetic radiation, or streams of electrons.
4. Anatomy. crystalline lens.
5. Geology. a body of rock or ore that is thick in the middle and thinner toward the edges, similar in shape to a biconvex lens.
–verb (used with object)
6. Movies. to film (a motion picture).

Origin:
1685–95; < NL, special use of L lēns a lentil (from its shape); see lentil


lensless, adjective
lenslike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

lens

A clear, almost spherical structure located just behind the pupil of the eye. The lens focuses waves of light on the retina.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lens 
1693, from L. lens (gen. lentis) "lentil," on analogy of the double-convex shape. See lentil.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: lens
Variant: also lense /'lenz/
Function: noun
1 : a curved piece of glass or plastic used singly or combined ineyeglasses or an optical instrument (as a microscope) for forming an image
2 : a device for directing or focusing radiation other than light (as sound waves, radio microwaves, orelectrons)
3 : a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays entering the eye typically onto the retina, lies immediatelybehind the pupil, is made up of slender curved rod-shaped ectodermal cells in concentric lamellae surrounded by a tenuous mesoblastic capsule, and alters its focal length by becoming more or lessspherical in response to the action of the ciliary muscle on a peripheral suspensory ligament —lensed adjectivelens·less adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

lens (lěnz)
n. pl. lens·es

  1. A ground or molded piece of glass, plastic, or other transparent material with opposite surfaces either or both of which are curved, by means of which light rays are refracted so that they converge or diverge to form an image.

  2. A transparent, biconvex body of the eye between the iris and the vitreous humor that focuses light rays entering through the pupil to form an image on the retina.


lensed adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
lens   (lěnz)  Pronunciation Key 


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  1. A transparent structure behind the iris of the eye that focuses light entering the eye on the retina.

    1. A piece of glass or plastic shaped so as to focus or spread light rays that pass through it, often for the purpose of forming an image.

    2. A combination of two or more such lenses, as in a camera or telescope. Also called compound lens.

  2. A device that causes radiation to converge or diverge by an action analogous to that of an optical lens. The system of electric fields used to focus electron beams in electron microscopes is an example of a lens.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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