field glass
1
5.3
- noun
- /fiːld ɡlæs/
:
prismáticos
- Lieutenant Dunn carried a pair of field glasses on a leather strap around his neck.
- raise the field glass
- field glass to his eye
Examples
-
The captain turned around and raised the field glass to his eye.
Fiction book (1998) -
I haven't got my field glasses with me.
-
Jake has his grandfather's field glasses on a leather strap around his neck.
Fiction book (1991) -
Her father passed the field glasses to Young Pam, who raised them to her eyes and scanned the treetops.
Fiction book (1998) -
At these words, Captain Opujic came riding into the tent, scattering the spectators aside and holding a military field glass in his hand.
Fiction book (1998) -
Through his field glasses, La Forge studied the crouched figure as intently as she studied her tricorder.
Fiction book (2001) -
Presently, he stirred, lifted the field glasses again to scan the treetops, and I signaled Liam to close the window.
Fiction book (1998) -
The birdwatcher used her field glass to spot the rare species perched on a branch.
-
He adjusted the focus on his field glass to get a clearer view of the distant mountains.
-
After spotting the deer in the field, she quickly grabbed her field glass to observe them closely.
Synonyms
39
7.8
A small telescope used to look at distant things, often at sea
5
7.6
A small tube with a lens that people use to see faraway things at sea
1
3.3
A pair of binoculars used to see far things outdoors
A small tool you hold to see far things, like birds or mountains
How Powerful
52
5.0
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
5.3
- Specialized
1
8.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is partly compositional: 'glass' can mean an optical instrument (e.g., spyglass) and 'field' suggests use outdoors or viewing a wide area, so the phrase can be interpreted as an optical device for the field. However, the specialized sense of 'glass' as 'binocular/telescope' is less familiar to many learners, so a B1 learner who only knows the basic senses may not reliably infer 'binoculars', making the transparency partial.
Etymology
Field glass comes from the simple picture of a small glass, a little tool for looking, used out in the field; soldiers and people who watched birds or animals carried these small telescopes to see things far away, so field glass came to mean 'a small binocular telescope' for looking at distant objects.