Speculum

Speculum
Speculum Spec"u*lum, n.; pl. L. {Specula}, E. {Speculum}. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See {Spy}.] 1. A mirror, or looking-glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology. [1913 Webster]

2. A reflector of polished metal, especially one used in reflecting telescopes. See {Speculum metal}, below. [1913 Webster]

3. (Surg.) An instrument for dilating certain passages of the body, and throwing light within them, thus facilitating examination or surgical operations. [1913 Webster]

4. (Zo["o]l.) A bright and lustrous patch of color found on the wings of ducks and some other birds. It is usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and is much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female. [1913 Webster]

{Speculum metal}, a hard, brittle alloy used for making the reflectors of telescopes and other instruments, usually consisting of copper and tin in various proportions, one of the best being that in which there are 126.4 parts of copper to 58.9 parts of tin, with sometimes a small proportion of arsenic, antimony, or zinc added to improve the whiteness. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:
, /


Look at other dictionaries:

  • spéculum — [ spekylɔm ] n. m. VAR. speculum • XVe; lat. speculum « miroir » ♦ Méd. Instrument servant à explorer des cavités ou conduits de l organisme, muni d un dispositif permettant de les élargir en vue d en faciliter l examen. Spéculum vaginal, anal,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • speculum — spéculum [ spekylɔm ] n. m. VAR. speculum • XVe; lat. speculum « miroir » ♦ Méd. Instrument servant à explorer des cavités ou conduits de l organisme, muni d un dispositif permettant de les élargir en vue d en faciliter l examen. Spéculum vaginal …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Speculum — Spéculum Ancien modèle de spéculum Un spéculum est un outil médical généralement en métal ou à usage unique en plastique permettant d explorer une cavité corporelle par l écartement des parois. Sommaire …   Wikipédia en Français

  • SPECULUM — primis mortalium aequor fuit undarum saxorumque laevor. Senec. Natur. Quaest. l. 1. c. 17. Rerum natura facultatem nobis dedit, nosmet ipsos videndi, fons cuique perlucidus, aut laeve saxum imaginem reddit. Unde Pastor ille Virgilianus, Ecl. 2. v …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Speculum — Spec u*lum, n.; pl. L. {Specula}, E. {Speculum}. [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See {Spy}.] 1. A mirror, or looking glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman arch[ae]ology. [1913 Webster] 2. A reflector of polished metal,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Specŭlum [1] — Specŭlum (lat.), 1) Spiegel; 2) Instrument zur Erweiterung der Öffnung von Höhlen, in denen man etwas beobachten od. vornehmen will, so der Mundspiegel (s.d., Speculum oris), der Mutterspiegel (Speculum uteri), zur Erweiterung u. Beobachtung der… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • speculum — SPÉCULUM s.n. v. specul. Trimis de claudia, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  SPÉCULUM s.n. v. specul. Trimis de LauraGellner, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DN …   Dicționar Român

  • speculum — (n.) 1590s, from L. speculum, lit. mirror, from specere to look at, view (see SCOPE (Cf. scope) (1)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Specŭlum [2] — Specŭlum (a. Geogr.), Ort in der südlichen numidischen Wüste; j. Sbekka …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Specŭlum — (lat.), medizinisches Instrument, s. Spiegel, S. 731 …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”