Meanings
nounalethoscope (plural alethoscopes)
plural alethoscopes
- historicalAn instrument, invented in the 1860s, for viewing magnified pictures by means of a single lens inside a box. By varying the intensity of the light, the same picture can be shown as "daytime" or "nighttime".
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Hellenic*ə-
- Ancient Greekᾰ̓- (ă-)
- Ancient Greek*λῆθος (*lêthos)
- Ancient Greekᾰ̓ληθής (ălēthḗs)
- Ancient Greekἀλήθεια (alḗtheia)
- Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
- Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
- Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
- Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
- Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
- Englishalethoscope
From Ancient Greek ἀλήθεια (alḗtheia, “truth”) + -scope, equivalent to aletho- + -scope.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
alethoscope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alethoscope
MLA
“alethoscope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alethoscope. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alethoscope,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alethoscope.
Source: alethoscope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.