spyglass

[spahy-glas, -glahs]

noun

1. a small telescope.

spyglass

/ ˈspaɪˌɡlɑːs /

noun

1. a small telescope

Word History and Origins

Origin of spyglass¹

First recorded in 1700–10; spy + glass

Example Sentences

She wished she had Alexander Incorrigible’s spyglass, so she might get a better view.

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From behind his back he produced the picture he had drawn earlier, which had been carefully rolled up and concealed in Alexander’s spyglass case until the right moment came to present it.

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Warily watching the British in Boston, “Washington frequently had Billy Lee remove his mahogany and brass spyglass from its handsome leather case so he could engage in surveillance of his adversary,” biographer Ron Chernow records.

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In one memorable 1803 cartoon, for example, British king George III literally holds the French leader in his palm, looking at him through a spyglass.

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"It looked like a black canvas with a chain with a spyglass hanging on the end of it," Lennon remembered during an RKO Radio interview on the last afternoon of his life.

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