optician

[op-tish-uhn]

noun

1. a person who makes or sells eyeglasses and, usually, contact lenses, for remedying defects of vision in accordance with the prescriptions of ophthalmologists and optometrists.

2. a maker or seller of optical glass and instruments.

optician

/ ɒpˈtɪʃən /

noun

1. Compare ophthalmologist

   1. Also called: optometrist. a general name used to refer to an ophthalmic optician, a person qualified to examine the eyes and prescribe and supply spectacles and contact lenses

   2. a general name used to refer to a dispensing optician, a person who supplies and fits spectacle frames but is not qualified to prescribe lenses

Word History and Origins

Origin of optician¹

1670–80; from French opticien, from Medieval Latin optic(a) ( optics ) + French -ien -ian

Synonym Study

See eye doctor.

Example Sentences

As is the nature of fertility treatment, all of these appointments have to be done at very specific times of the month - and fitting this around her job at a private opticians has proven difficult.

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Mr Barlow has now been prescribed antidepressants and sleeping tablets, and his optician suspected his persistent eye irritation may have been caused by the mould and damp.

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A seven-year-old boy is in danger of losing sight in one eye because of an undiagnosed condition that was only picked up by a "fluke appointment" at the optician's.

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Detailed scans by the optician showed damage to her optic nerve because of swelling in her brain.

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In areas like Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire, parents are instead given advice in their child's early development checks, or are signposted towards free NHS tests at their local optician.

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