panopticon

[ pan-op-ti-kon ]

/ pænˈɒp tɪˌkɒn /

noun

a building, as a prison, hospital, library, or the like, so arranged that all parts of the interior are visible from a single point.

Nearby words

panofsky, panofsky, erwin, panophthalmia, panoply, panoptic, panopticon, panorama, panoramic, panoramic camera, panoramic radiograph, panoramic sight

Origin of panopticon

1760–70; pan- + Greek optikón sight, seeing (neuter of optikós; see optic)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for panopticon

The Panopticon is usually considered an abstract idea, but in fact I lived in one.
Reading Prison Novels In Prison|Daniel Genis|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He spent 16 years of his mostly 18th century life designing the Panopticon, which was to be the ideal disciplinary institution.
Reading Prison Novels In Prison|Daniel Genis|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Panopticon By Jenni Fagan A teenage heroine is sent to a reformatory in this dystopian novel.
This Week’s Hot Reads: July 22, 2013|Cameron Martin|July 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
How have we gotten so comfortable with the panopticon state in little more than a decade?
Big Brother Is Watching Your Cell Phone|Megan McArdle|June 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A long correspondence upon the acquisition of the 'Panopticon' land is included.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen
During this period Bentham was also occupied with the Panopticon, and some writings refer to it.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen
The Panopticon, as defined by its inventor to Brissot, was a 'mill for grinding rogues honest, and idle men industrious.'
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen
In fact, every alley converged to this one centre, and the royal residence stood like the governor's chamber in a panopticon jail.
A Day's Ride|Charles James Lever
It had struck him that an application of his Panopticon would give the required panacea.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I.|Leslie Stephen

Word Origin and History for panopticon

panopticon

1768, a type of optical instrument or telescope, from Greek pan "all" (see pan-) + optikon, neuter of optikos "of or for sight" (see optic). Later the name of a type of prison designed by Bentham (1791) in which wardens had a constant view of all inmates, and "a showroom" (1850).