camera lucida

American  

[loo-si-duh] / ˈlu sɪ də /

noun

1. an optical instrument, often attached to the eyepiece of a microscope, by which the image of an external object is projected on a sheet of paper or the like for tracing.

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camera lucida British  

/ ˈluːsɪdə /

noun

1. an instrument attached to a microscope, etc to enable an observer to view simultaneously the image and a drawing surface to facilitate the sketching of the image

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Etymology

Origin of camera lucida

1660–70; < New Latin: bright chamber; see camera ¹, lucid

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

camera lucida

Certain that Ingres had used something optical to achieve that quality, Hockney bought himself a camera lucida, a small device that works like a prism.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

The visual trick may have been created by the artist’s use of a common optical viewing aid called a camera lucida.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2025

Precisely ground, the mirrors were able to start fires and project images onto flat surfaces, camera lucida fashion.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

I speak confidently on this latter point, as Sir J. Lubbock made drawings for me, with the camera lucida, of the jaws which I dissected from the workers of the several sizes.

From The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition by Darwin, Charles

Wollaston, William Hyde, physicist and chemist, born in Norfolk, grandson of preceding; made extensive discoveries in chemistry and optics; invented the camera lucida and the goniometer.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin