prism

[priz-uhm]

noun

1. Optics.,  a transparent solid body, often having triangular bases, used for dispersing light into a spectrum or for reflecting rays of light.

2. Geometry.,  a solid having bases or ends that are parallel, congruent polygons and sides that are parallelograms.

3. Crystallography.,  a form having faces parallel to the vertical axis and intersecting the horizontal axes.

prism

/ ˈprɪzəm /

noun

1. a transparent polygonal solid, often having triangular ends and rectangular sides, for dispersing light into a spectrum or for reflecting and deviating light. They are used in spectroscopes, binoculars, periscopes, etc

2. a form of crystal with faces parallel to the vertical axis

3. maths a polyhedron having parallel, polygonal, and congruent bases and sides that are parallelograms

prism

1. A geometric solid whose bases are congruent polygons lying in parallel planes and whose sides are parallelograms.

2. A solid of this type, often made of glass with triangular ends, used to disperse light and break it up into a spectrum.

3. A crystal form having 3, 4, 6, 8, or 12 faces parallel to the vertical axis and intersecting the horizontal axis.

prism

1. A solid figure in geometry with bases or ends of the same size and shape and sides that have parallel edges. Also, an object that has this shape.

A prism of glass (or a similar transparent material) can be used to bend different wavelengths of light by different amounts through refraction. This bending separates a beam of white light into a spectrum of colored light.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prism¹

1560–70; < Late Latin prīsma < Greek prîsma literally, something sawed, akin to prī́zein to saw, prīstēs sawyer

Word History and Origins

Origin of prism¹

C16: from Medieval Latin prisma, from Greek: something shaped by sawing, from prizein to saw

Example Sentences

But viewed through the prism of Western democracy in crisis, her big win also has an unmistakable Bernie-Zohran flavor.

Read more on Salon

He said Earl "led a rather nihilistic existence which involved taking drugs" and "saw the world through the desperate, pathetic and delusional prism of online gaming".

Read more on BBC

But the introduction of artificial intelligence has given a new prism through which to view these unresolved existential questions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"If you look at it through the prism of I'm a failed manager who's lucky to get this job, then of course these first five weeks look like 'This guy is under pressure'," he said.

Read more on Barron's

If you look at it through the prism of 'I'm a failed manager who's lucky to get this job' then of course this first five weeks looks like 'this guy's under pressure'.

Read more on BBC