speculum

[ spek-yuh-luh m ]

/ ˈspɛk yə ləm /

noun, plural spec·u·la [spek-yuh-luh] /ˈspɛk yə lə/, spec·u·lums.

a mirror or reflector, especially one of polished metal, as on a reflecting telescope.

speculum metal.

Surgery. an instrument for rendering a part accessible to observation, as by enlarging an orifice.

Ornithology. a lustrous or specially colored area on the wings of certain birds.

RELATED WORDS

reflector, gaper, imager

Nearby words

speculation, speculative, speculative fiction, speculative philosophy, speculator, speculum, speculum forceps, speculum metal, sped, spee, speech

Origin of speculum

1590–1600; < Latin: mirror, equivalent to spec(ere) to look, behold + -ulum instrumental suffix; see -ule

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

Examples from the Web for specula

It also admits of as perfect a polish as the metal hitherto used for the specula of telescopes.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson
I know of a gentleman who made a hundred of these specula with his own hands.
The Vast Abyss|George Manville Fenn
The Specula Melitensis Encyclica gives an account of a kind of calculating machine of his invention.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 7|Various
He studied science when he could, and hired a telescope, until he learnt to make his own specula and telescopes.
History of Astronomy|George Forbes

His writings on light, Perspectiva and Specula mathematica, are included in his Opus majus.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for specula

speculum

/ (ˈspɛkjʊləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə) or -lums

a mirror, esp one made of polished metal for use in a telescope, etc

med an instrument for dilating a bodily cavity or passage to permit examination of its interior

a patch of distinctive colour on the wing of a bird, esp in certain ducks

Word Origin for speculum

C16: from Latin: mirror, from specere to look at

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

Medicine definitions for specula

speculum

[ spĕk′yə-ləm ]

n. pl. spec•u•lums

A mirror or polished metal plate that is used as a reflector in optical instruments.

An instrument that is used to dilate the opening of a body cavity for medical examination.