telescopic

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
2. Ancient Greekτῆλε (têle)
3. Englishtele-
4. Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
5. Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
6. Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
7. Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
8. Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
9. Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
10. English todaytelescopic

From tele- + -scopic, after telescope.

First known use, by meaning

• from 17th c. Pertaining to, or carried out by means of, a telescope.
• from 17th c. Seen by means of a telescope; only visible through a telescope.
• from 18th c. Capable of seeing distant objects; far-seeing.
• from 19th c. Able to be extended or retracted by the use of parts that slide over one another.
• from 20th c. Referring to parts being extended or retracted along coinciding axes (with or without direct contact between the parts).