kaleidoscope

The story

1. Ancient Greekκαλός (kalós)
2. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
3. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
4. Proto-Hellenic*wéidos
5. Ancient Greekεἶδος (eîdos)
6. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
7. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
8. Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
9. Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
10. Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
11. Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
12. English todaykaleidoscope

The noun is derived from Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful, lovely”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form, image, shape”) + English -scope (suffix denoting an instrument used for examination or viewing), coined by the British scientist David Brewster (1781–1868) in his 1817 patent for the invention: see the quotation. The verb is derived from the noun.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1817 An instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen.