camera
/ˈkæməɹə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.87 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.
noun
The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement."
- "Glance up while strolling through parts of downtown Hong Kong and, chances are, you’ll notice the glassy black lens of a surveillance camera trained on the city’s crowded streets. And that sight will become more common in the coming years, as the city’s police pursue an ambitious campaign to install thousands of cameras to elevate their surveillance capabilities."
- "If you're building a third-person game with enclosed or tight spaces, try to figure out up front what camera problems you will likely encounter. Use this identification process to influence the early building process."
- "I'm talking about the way the camera flies up above the skater when you leap into the air. No one had done it before."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin, from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”), from *kamárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmárati, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”). Doublet of chamber. (device): An ellipsis of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: καμάρα, -, *kamarā-, *kmárati, *kh₂em-, camera obscura
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæməɹə/
- British English: /ˈkæməɹə/