lorgnette
Americannoun
-
a pair of eyeglasses mounted on a handle.
-
a pair of opera glasses mounted on a handle.
noun
Etymology
Origin of lorgnette
1795–1805; < French, derivative of lorgner to eye furtively; see -ette
Explanation
An old-fashioned type of glasses that you hold up to your eyes with a handle is called a lorgnette. You might see a lady with a lorgnette enjoying the opera in an old movie. Lorgnettes were originally a type of jewelry, rather than functional eyeglasses. Later, they were used to enhance vision but considered more fashionable than spectacles that hooked over the ears. The disadvantage of a lorgnette is that you have to hold it up to your eyes in order to see clearly. The word comes from the French verb lorgner, "to squint," and lorgne, which means both "squinting" and also "cross-eyed or foolish."
Vocabulary lists containing lorgnette
Power Suffix: -ette
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The Importance of Being Earnest
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"The Diary of a Madman" by Nikolai Gogol
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Originally voiced by Jerry Nelson, she sometimes wears a horn-rimmed lorgnette, fans herself with plastic and sings torchy, bluesy songs.
From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2022
Here is Smith, sans magic wand, sans the pearls and lorgnette, facing the camera as an unadorned suburban housewife telling her story of hope and desperation with only her voice and facial expressions.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2015
He won a national student design competition two years running, once for a white desk phone that had a handset with a long handle, like a lorgnette.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 16, 2015
Like the lorgnette, spyglass, and, a direct ancestor, the quizzing glass, the monocle basically originated as a faddish accessory of those with the cash and the inclination to purchase such things.
From Slate ● Dec. 27, 2012
One hand carried a gigantic bag, the kind that holds passports, engagement diaries, and bridge scores, while the other hand toyed with that inevitable lorgnette, the enemy to other people’s privacy.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
