lens

From Dutch lens, from Latin lēns (“lentil”).


lens

nl-noun

lens f (plural lenzen, diminutive lensje n)

lenzen (plural)
lensje (diminutive neuter)

Afrikaans: lens

→ Indonesian: lensa

→ Japanese: レンズ (renzu)

→ Papiamentu: lèns


lens

(historical) a type of barbless harpoon used for killing whales

lens m (plural lenzen, diminutive lensje n)


lens

From Middle Dutch lense, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of Middle Dutch lunse (see luns), or perhaps a dialectal borrowing from Old Frisian *lens, *lenis, from Proto-West Germanic *lunis, related to Old English lynis (“linchpin”).


lens

nl-adj

lens (comparative lenzer, superlative meest lens or lenst)

lenzer (comparative)
meest lens (superlative)
lenst (superlative)
lens (adverbial positive predicative)
lenzer (adverbial comparative predicative)
het lenst (adverbial predicative superlative)
het lenste (adverbial predicative superlative)
lenze (feminine indefinite masculine positive singular)
lenzere (comparative feminine indefinite masculine singular)
lenste (feminine indefinite masculine singular superlative)
lens (indefinite neuter positive singular)
lenzer (comparative indefinite neuter singular)
lenste (indefinite neuter singular superlative)
lenze (indefinite plural positive)
lenzere (comparative indefinite plural)
lenste (indefinite plural superlative)
lenze (definite positive)
lenzere (comparative definite)
lenste (definite superlative)
lens (partitive positive)
lenzers (comparative partitive)

Petjo: lens


lens

Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. That’s because the lenses that are excellent at magnifying tiny subjects produce a narrow depth of field.

2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:

(optics) An object, usually made of glass, that focuses or defocuses the light that passes through it.

A device which focuses or defocuses electron beams.

(geometry) A convex shape bounded by two circular arcs, joined at their endpoints, the corresponding concave shape being a lune.

(biology) A genus of the legume family; its bean.

The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.

2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:

(anatomy) The transparent crystalline structure in the eye.

(earth science) A body of rock, ice, or water shaped like a convex lens.

(programming) A construct used in statically-typed functional programming languages to access nested data structures.

If "the public looks at the condition of America's children largely through a negative lens," worries Child Trends[…], "it may be more difficult to […] promote child well-being."

2004 April 11, Ann Hulbert, “Are the Kids All Right?”, in The New York Times Magazine, page 11:

No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.

2023 April 26, Benjamin Lee, quoting Steven Spielberg, “Steven Spielberg: ‘No film should be revised’ based on modern sensitivity”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(by extension, figuratively) A way of looking, literally or figuratively, at something.

en-noun

lens (plural lenses or (obsolete) lens or (rare) lentes)

lenses (plural)
lens (obsolete plural)
lentes (plural rare)

→ Bengali: লেন্স (lenś)

→ Turkish: lens

lente

object focusing or defocusing the light passing through it

lens

geometry: convex shape bounded by two circular arcs

linze

biology: genus of the legume family; its bean

عَدَسَة اَلْعَيْن

anatomy: transparent crystalline structure in the eye

Borrowed from Latin lēns (“lentil”), with Medieval Latin later taking on the sense of “lens”, a semantic loan from Arabic عَدْسَة (ʕadsa, “lentil; optic lens”).


lens

It’s set in an anonymous, upper-middle-class suburb, lensed in the generic gunmetal gray that will one day appear as dated as the fuzzy outlines of ’80s direct-to-video horror movies.

2020 May 7, Katie Rife, “If you’re looking to jump in your seat, make a playdate with Z”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 2020-05-16:

(transitive, cinematography) To film, shoot.

(geology) To become thinner towards the edges.

en-verb

lens (third-person singular simple present lenses, present participle lensing, simple past and past participle lensed)

lenses (present singular third-person)
lensing (participle present)
lensed (participle past)
lensed (past)


lens

Illoittee ussian kymmenän kilometran pääst näkkyy lens, kumpa ono elektrovalkiaal valaistuin kombinatan hoonein pääl.

1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by P. I. Maksimov and N. A. Iljin, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun neljättä klaassaa vart (toine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 43:

In the evenings, the glow over the industrial complex's buildings that are flooded with electrical light, are visible from multiple kilometers away.

lens (nominative singular)
lennet (nominative plural)
lennen (genitive singular)
lensiin (genitive plural)
lensilöin (genitive plural)
lenttä (partitive singular)
lensiä (partitive plural)
lensilöjä (partitive plural)
lentee (illative singular)
lensii (illative plural)
lensilöihe (illative plural)
lennees (inessive singular)
lensiis (inessive plural)
lensilöis (inessive plural)
lennest (elative singular)
lensist (elative plural)
lensilöist (elative plural)
lennelle (allative singular)
lensille (allative plural)
lensilöille (allative plural)
lenneel (adessive singular)
lensiil (adessive plural)
lensilöil (adessive plural)
lennelt (ablative singular)
lensilt (ablative plural)
lensilöilt (ablative plural)
lenneks (singular translative)
lensiks (plural translative)
lensilöiks (plural translative)
lenteennä (essive singular)
lenteen (essive singular)
lensiinnä (essive plural)
lensilöinnä (essive plural)
lensiin (essive plural)
lensilöin (essive plural)
lentent (exessive singular)
lensint (exessive plural)
lensilöint (exessive plural)


lens

la-noun

lēns f (genitive lentis); third declension

lēns (canonical feminine)
lentis (genitive)
lēns (nominative singular)
lentēs (nominative plural)
lentis (genitive singular)
lentium (genitive plural)
lentī (dative singular)
lentibus (dative plural)
lentem (accusative singular)
lentim (accusative singular)
lentēs (accusative plural)
lentīs (accusative plural)
lente (ablative singular)
lentī (ablative singular)
lentibus (ablative plural)
lēns (singular vocative)
lentēs (plural vocative)

Aromanian: linti

→ Catalan: lent

Friulian: lint

→ Galician: lente

→ Italian: lente

→ Portuguese: lente

Romanian: linte

Sicilian: lenti

→ Spanish: lente

Venetan: lente

→ Tashelhit: tilintit

→ Dutch: lens (learned) (see there for further descendants)

→ English: lens (learned) (see there for further descendants)

→ Proto-West Germanic: *linsī (see there for further descendants)

Unknown, likely a borrowing from an unidentified source.
Compare Old High German linsa (“lentil”), Lithuanian lęšis (“lentil”), Proto-Slavic *lęťa (“lentil”), and Albanian lend (“acorn”), sounding too similar for a coincidence, however different enough to prohibit reconstruction of a common PIE protoform. May also be related to Ancient Greek λάθυρος (láthuros).
If ultimately a non-IE substrate loanword, locating the source is virtually impossible because cultivation of lentil was widespread in the region since the Neolithic.


lens

lēns f (genitive lendis); third declension

lēns (canonical feminine)
lendis (genitive)
lēns (nominative singular)
lendēs (nominative plural)
lendis (genitive singular)
lendum (genitive plural)
lendī (dative singular)
lendibus (dative plural)
lendem (accusative singular)
lendēs (accusative plural)
lende (ablative singular)
lendibus (ablative plural)
lēns (singular vocative)
lendēs (plural vocative)

Gallo-Romance:

Franco-Provençal: len

Old French: lent

Picard: len

Walloon: lin

Late Latin: lendis (see there for further descendants)

Unknown. According to de Vaan, perhaps a deformed form of what is found as Proto-Slavic *gňìda (“nit”), Proto-Germanic *hnits (“nit”), Ancient Greek κονίς (konís) (gen. κονίδος (konídos)), Armenian անիծ (anic, “nit”); he proposes Proto-Indo-European *dḱ(o)nid- > *dkni-n-d- > *dklind- > Proto-Italic *(d)lind-. However, like the Indo-European cognates, it may be of substrate origin.


lens

head

lens (definite accusative lensi, plural lensler)

lensi (accusative definite)
lensler (plural)
lens (nominative singular)
lensler (nominative plural)
lensi (accusative definite singular)
lensleri (accusative definite plural)
lense (dative singular)
lenslere (dative plural)
lenste (locative singular)
lenslerde (locative plural)
lensten (ablative singular)
lenslerden (ablative plural)
lensin (genitive singular)
lenslerin (genitive plural)

From English lens; ultimately from Latin lēns.