Meanings
nounbioscope (plural bioscopes)
plural bioscopes
- BruneiIndiaIndonesiaMalaysiaMyanmarPakistanSingaporeSouth AfricadatedA cinema or movie theatre.
Like their Western brothers, groups of native youths [in Burma] from out-lying places set out cheerfully on Saturday nights to visit the nearest "Bioscope", as they call the cinema[.]
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 175
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gʷeyh₃-
- Ancient Greekβῐ́ος (bĭ́os)
- Ancient Greekβῐο- (bĭo-)
- Englishbio-
- Proto-Indo-European*speḱ-
- Proto-Indo-European*spéḱyeti
- Proto-Hellenic*sképt͏̌omai
- Ancient Greekσκέπτομαι (sképtomai)
- Ancient Greekσκοπός (skopós)
- Ancient Greekσκοπέω (skopéō)
- Englishbioscope
From bio- + -scope. Modern use in South Africa is under the influence of Afrikaans bioskoop.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Hindi बायस्कोप
- बायस्कोप (bāyaskop)an early form of movie projector
Polish bioskop
- bioskopan early form of movie projector
Portuguese bioscópio
- bioscópioan early form of movie projector
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
bioscope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bioscope
MLA
“bioscope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bioscope. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bioscope,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bioscope.
Source: bioscope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.