Meanings
camera1
plural cameras · plural rare cameræ · plural rare camerae
- artsA device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.
2 more examples
The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement.
2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American ScientistGlance up while strolling through parts of downtown Hong Kong and, chances are, you’ll notice the glassy black lens of a surveillance camera trained on the city’s crowded streets. And that sight will become more common in the coming years, as the city’s police pursue an ambitious campaign to install thousands of cameras to elevate their surveillance capabilities.
2024 October 5, Jessie Yeung, “Hong Kong plans to install thousands of surveillance cameras. Critics say it’s more proof the city is moving closer to China”, in CNN - computer graphicsThe viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.
I'm talking about the way the camera flies up above the skater when you leap into the air. No one had done it before.
2006, Patrick O'Luanaigh, Game Design Complete1 more example
If you're building a third-person game with enclosed or tight spaces, try to figure out up front what camera problems you will likely encounter. Use this identification process to influence the early building process.
2003, Tom Meigs, Ultimate game design: building game worlds
Camera2
Synonyms & antonyms
nounequipment for taking photographs (usually consisting of a lightproof box with a lens at one end and light-sensitive film at the other)
nountelevision equipment consisting of a lens system that focuses an image on a photosensitive mosaic that is scanned by an electron beam
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- New Latincamera obscura“dark chamber”
- Proto-Indo-European*kh₂em-“to bend, curve”
- Proto-Indo-Iranian*kmárati
- Proto-Iranian*kamarā-“something curved”
- Ancient Greekκαμάρα“anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”
- Latincamera“chamber or bedchamber”
- Englishcamera
Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin, from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”), from *kamárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmárati, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”). Doublet of chamber. (device): An ellipsis of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek, Proto-Iranian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kamera, kamera
- kamerastill camera
- kameramovie camera
Arabic كَمِرَة, كَامِيرَا
- كَمِرَة (kamira)still camera
- كَامِيرَا (kāmērā)still camera
- آلَة تَصْوِير (ʔālat taṣwīr)still camera
- مُصَوِّرَة (muṣawwira)still camera
- كَامِيرَا (kāmērā)movie camera
- كَامِيرَا فِيدِيُو (kāmērā fīdiyū)movie camera
- آلَةُ تَصْوِيرِ فِيدِيُو (ʔālatu taṣwīri fīdiyū)movie camera
Bengali ক্যামেরা, ক্যামেরা
- ক্যামেরা (kêmera)still camera
- ক্যামেরা (kêmera)movie camera
- ভিডিও ক্যামেরা (bhiḍiō kêmera)movie camera
Bulgarian фотоапара́т, фотока́мера
- фотоапара́т (fotoaparát)still camera
- фотока́мера (fotokámera)still camera
- ка́мера (kámera)movie camera
- ви́деока́мера (vídeokámera)movie camera
Catalan càmera, càmera de vídeo
- càmerastill camera
- càmera de vídeomovie camera
Chinese Cantonese 相機 /相机, 影相機 /影相机
- 相機 /相机still camera
- 影相機 /影相机still camera
Chinese Mandarin 照相機 /照相机, 相機 /相机
- 照相機 /照相机 (zhàoxiàngjī)still camera
- 相機 /相机 (xiàngjī)still camera
- 攝影機 /摄影机 (shèyǐngjī)movie camera
- 攝像機 /摄像机 (camcorder)movie camera
Czech fotoaparát, foťák
- fotoaparátstill camera
- foťákstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
Danish kamera, fotografiapparat
- kamerastill camera
- fotografiapparatstill camera
- fotoapparatstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
Dutch fototoestel, fotoapparaat
- fototoestelstill camera
- fotoapparaatstill camera
- camerastill camera
- cameramovie camera
- videocameramovie camera
Esperanto fotilo, fotografilo
- fotilostill camera
- fotografilostill camera
- kameraomovie camera
Estonian fotoaparaat, fotokas
- fotoaparaatstill camera
- fotokasstill camera
- kaameramovie camera
- videokaameramovie camera
Finnish kamera, valokuvakamera
- kamerastill camera
- valokuvakamerastill camera
- kameramovie camera
- elokuvakameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
French appareil photo, caméra
- appareil photostill camera
- caméramovie camera
German Fotoapparat, Kamera
- Fotoapparatstill camera
- Kamerastill camera
- Videokameramovie camera
- Kameramovie camera
Greek φωτογραφική μηχανή, βιντεοκάμερα
- φωτογραφική μηχανή (fotografikí michaní)still camera
- βιντεοκάμερα (vinteokámera)movie camera
Hebrew מַצְלֵמָה, מַצְלֵמָה
- מַצְלֵמָה (matslemá)still camera
- מַצְלֵמָה (matslemá)movie camera
- מַצְלֵמַת וִידֵאוֹ (matslemát víde'o)movie camera
Hindi कैमरा, छायाचित्रक
- कैमरा (kaimrā)still camera
- छायाचित्रक (chāyācitrak)still camera
- वीडियो कैमरा (vīḍiyo kaimrā)movie camera
Hungarian kamera, fényképezőgép
- kamerastill camera
- fényképezőgépstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- videókameramovie camera
Icelandic myndavél, myndavél
- myndavélstill camera
- myndavélmovie camera
- upptökuvélmovie camera
- kvikmyndavélmovie camera
Indonesian kamera, tustel
- kamerastill camera
- tustelstill camera
- kamera videomovie camera
Irish ceamara, grianghrafadán
- ceamarastill camera
- grianghrafadánstill camera
- ceamaramovie camera
- ceamara scannánmovie camera
- físcheamaramovie camera
Italian fotocamera, macchina fotografica
- fotocamerastill camera
- macchina fotograficastill camera
- videocameramovie camera
- telecameramovie camera
Japanese カメラ, 写真機
- カメラ (kamera)still camera
- 写真機 (shashinki)still camera
- ビデオカメラ (bideokamera)movie camera
- カメラ (kamera)movie camera
Korean 카메라, 사진기
- 카메라 (kamera)still camera
- 사진기 (sajin'gi)still camera
- 비디오 카메라 (bidio kamera)movie camera
- 카메라 (kamera)movie camera
Latvian fotoaparāts, kamera
- fotoaparātsstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- kinokameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
Lithuanian fotoaparatas, kamera
- fotoaparatasstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- vaizdo kameramovie camera
Malay kamera
- kamerastill camera
Māori kāmera, pūwhakaahua
- kāmerastill camera
- pūwhakaahuastill camera
- kāmeramovie camera
- pū whakaahuamovie camera
Norwegian Bokmål kamera, fotoapparat
- kamerastill camera
- fotoapparatstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
Polish aparat fotograficzny, kamera
- aparat fotograficznystill camera
- kameramovie camera
- kamera wideomovie camera
Portuguese câmara fotográfica, câmera fotográfica
- câmara fotográficastill camera
- câmera fotográficastill camera
- máquina fotográficastill camera
- videocâmaramovie camera
- videocâmeramovie camera
Punjabi ਕੈਮਰਾ
- ਕੈਮਰਾ (kaimrā)still camera
Romanian aparat foto, aparat fotografic
- aparat fotostill camera
- aparat fotograficstill camera
- cameră fotostill camera
Russian фотоаппара́т, ка́мера
- фотоаппара́т (fotoapparát)still camera
- ка́мера (kámera)still camera
- фотока́мера (fotokámera)still camera
- видеока́мера (videokámera)movie camera
- ка́мера (kámera)movie camera
Scottish Gaelic camara, camara
- camarastill camera
- camaramovie camera
Slovak fotoaparát, kamera
- fotoaparátstill camera
- kameramovie camera
- videokameramovie camera
Spanish cámara, cámara fotográfica
- cámarastill camera
- cámara fotográficastill camera
- fotocámarastill camera
- kódakstill camera
- lentestill camera
- kodakstill camera
- videocámaramovie camera
- cámara videográficamovie camera
Swahili kamera, kamera
- kamerastill camera
- kameramovie camera
Swedish kamera, videokamera
- kamerastill camera
- videokameramovie camera
- filmkameramovie camera
Tagalog kamera, kodak
- kamerastill camera
- kodakstill camera
Tamil கேமரா
- கேமரா (kēmarā)still camera
Thai กล้องถ่ายรูป, กล้องถ่ายภาพ
- กล้องถ่ายรูป (glɔ̂ng-tàai-rûup)still camera
- กล้องถ่ายภาพ (glɔ̂ng-tàai-pâap)still camera
- กล้อง (glɔ̂ng)still camera
- กล้องถ่ายวิดีโอ (glɔ̂ng-tàai-wí-dii-oo)movie camera
- กล้องวิดีโอ (glɔ̂ng-wí-dii-oo)movie camera
Turkish fotoğraf makinesi, kamera
- fotoğraf makinesistill camera
- kameramovie camera
Ukrainian фотоапара́т, ка́мера
- фотоапара́т (fotoaparát)still camera
- ка́мера (kámera)still camera
- фотока́мера (fotokámera)still camera
- відеока́мера (videokámera)movie camera
- ка́мера (kámera)movie camera
Urdu کَیمْرَہ, کَیمْرا
- کَیمْرَہ (kaimra)still camera
- کَیمْرا (kaimrā)still camera
- عَکَاسَہ ('akāsa)still camera
Vietnamese máy hình, máy chụp hình
- máy hìnhstill camera
- máy chụp hìnhstill camera
- máy chụp ảnhstill camera
- máy ảnhstill camera
- ca-mê-rastill camera
- máy quay phimmovie camera
- máy quaymovie camera
- máy ghi hìnhmovie camera
- ca-mê-ramovie camera
- máy quay vi-đê-ômovie camera
Welsh camera
- camerastill camera
Yiddish אַפּאַראַט, פֿאָטאָגראַפֿישער אַפּאַראַט
- אַפּאַראַט (aparat)still camera
- פֿאָטאָגראַפֿישער אַפּאַראַט (fotografisher aparat)still camera
- פֿאָטאָאַפּאַראַט (fotoaparat)still camera
- קאַמערע (kamere)still camera
- קאַמערע (kamere)movie camera
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
camera. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camera
“camera.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camera. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “camera,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/camera.
Source: camera on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.