Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Late Latin
Origin: prisma, from Greek, 'something cut with a saw'; because of its shape

prism

 noun
     
Related topics: Maths, Optics
pris‧m [countable]
1HPO a transparent block of glass that breaks up white light into different colours
2 technicalHPO a solid object with matching ends and several sides which are the same width all the way up
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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