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-scope

Also ‑scopic and ‑scopy.

An instrument for observing, viewing, or examining something.

Greek skopein, look at.

This ending appears in the names of a wide variety of instruments in engineering, medicine, the sciences, and other fields, most containing the linking vowel ‑o‑ before the ending. All can have associated adjectives in ‑scopic, as in spectroscopic or gyroscopic. Many have a linked noun in ‑scopy that describes an observation or examination made using the instrument: laryngoscopy, endoscopy (among those in which that form is rare are kaleidoscope and periscope, in which names do not represent a scientific instrument). In horoscope, the ending has a figurative sense.

Examples of words in -scope
Word origins are from Greek unless otherwise stated.

endoscope

an instrument which can be introduced into the body to give a view of its internal parts

endon, within

gyroscope

a device consisting of a fast-spinning wheel on supports, often used as a compass or to give stability

guros, a ring

horoscope

a forecast of a person's future based on the positions of the stars and planets at the time of his or her birth

hōra, time

kaleidoscope

a toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass or paper

kalos, beautiful, plus eidos, form

laparoscope

a fibre optic instrument which is inserted through the abdominal wall to view the organs in the abdomen or permit small-scale surgery

lapara, flank

microscope

an optical instrument used for viewing very small objects

mikros, small

ophthalmoscope

an instrument for inspecting the retina and other parts of the eye

ophthalmos, eye

oscilloscope

a device for viewing oscillations by a display on the screen of a cathode ray tube

English oscillation

otoscope

an instrument designed for visual examination of the eardrum and the passage of the outer ear

ous, ōt‑, ear

periscope

a device, as in a submarine, which uses mirrors to observe a scene otherwise out of sight Greek peri, about, around)spectroscope, an apparatus for producing and recording spectra for examination

English spectrum

stethoscope

a medical instrument for listening to the action of someone's heart or breathing

stēthos, breast

stroboscope

an instrument for apparently stopping movement by shining a bright light at intervals

strobos, whirling

telescope

an optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer

tēle‑, far off

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