microscope

From New Latin microscopium, from Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós, “small”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “I look at”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪkɹəskəʊp/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪkɹəskoʊp/
• enPR: mīʹkrə-skōp'
• Hyphenation: mi‧cro‧scope

microscope (plural microscopes)

1. An optical instrument used for observing small objects.
   • 1837, The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal (volume 23, page 222)

     That he might ascertain whether any of the cloths of ancient Egypt were made of hemp, M. Dutrochet has examined with the microscope the weavable filaments of this last vegetable.

2. Any instrument for imaging very small objects (such as an electron microscope).

• magnifying glass
• telescope

microscope (third-person singular simple present microscopes, present participle microscoping, simple past and past participle microscoped)

1. To examine with a microscope, to put under a microscope (literally or figuratively).

   Synonym: microscopize

   • 1897, The Clinical Journal, page 200:

     It has a strong germicidal action, as can be verified by staining and microscoping the pus, the characteristic micro-organisms disappearing rapidly under its use.

   • 2012, E.J. Zingg, D.M.A. Wallace, Bladder Cancer (Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN), page 79:

     Wright (1959), using the standard and less laborious technique of microscoping the centrifuged deposit of a sample of urine, found that 21.6% of males attending life insurance examinations had more than 10 red blood cells per high power field (rbc/hpf).

micro- +‎ -scope

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microscope m (plural microscopes)

1. microscope

• microscopie
• microscopique