camera obscura

[ob-skyoor-uh]

noun

1. a darkened boxlike device in which images of external objects, received through an aperture, as with a convex lens, are exhibited in their natural colors on a surface arranged to receive them: used for sketching, exhibition purposes, etc.

camera obscura

/ ɒbˈskjʊərə /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: camera. a darkened chamber or small building in which images of outside objects are projected onto a flat surface by a convex lens in an aperture

Word History and Origins

Origin of camera obscura¹

1660–70; < New Latin: dark chamber; camera ¹, obscure

Word History and Origins

Origin of camera obscura¹

New Latin: dark chamber