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Where does the word "prism" come from? It comes from Greek prisma, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).
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Where does the word "prism" come from? It comes from Greek prisma, and was adopted directly into English (1560s).
Prism’s story begins in Greek: prisma meant “something sawed.” Literally something sawed, from prizein (to saw). It reached English by 1560s as prism. Settled as the word for the transparent solid that refracts light. Today, prism means a transparent solid, often triangular, that refracts light into its component colors.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient prisma "something sawed", literally something sawed, from prizein (to saw).
- Stage 2 · English · 1560s prism "a transparent solid that refracts light into a spectrum", settled as the word for the transparent solid that refracts light.