lorgnette

[ lawrn-yet ]
See synonyms for lorgnette on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a pair of eyeglasses mounted on a handle.

  2. a pair of opera glasses mounted on a handle.

Origin of lorgnette

1
1795–1805; <French, derivative of lorgner to eye furtively; see -ette

Words Nearby lorgnette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lorgnette in a sentence

  • They were walking down a corridor, and Miss Thangue was peering through her lorgnette at the cards on the doors.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • One of the ladies advances, lorgnette in hand, and stares boldly at the prisoner.

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • Mrs. Slade adjusted her lorgnette, looked at the card, and appeared to hesitate for a second.

    The Butterfly House | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
  • "What common looking people," said Mrs. Rhinelander, surveying the crowd aristocratically with her lorgnette.

    A Parody Outline of History | Donald Ogden Stewart
  • The moment she caught my eye she dropped her "lorgnette," and hurried away, in what was clear to see was an air of confusion.

    Sir Jasper Carew | Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for lorgnette

lorgnette

/ (lɔːˈnjɛt) /


noun
  1. a pair of spectacles or opera glasses mounted on a handle

Origin of lorgnette

1
C19: from French, from lorgner to squint, from Old French lorgne squinting

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012