Etymology

collimate

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Today it means: To focus into a narrow beam or column; to adjust a focusing device so that it produces a narrow beam. Full definition →

Latin collimātus
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromcollimātus
  2. English todaycollimate

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin collimātus, perfect passive participle of collīmō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), itself originating from a misreading of collīniō, collīneō.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.