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Origin and history of telescopy

telescopy(n.)

"art of constructing or using a telescope," by 1861, from telescope (n.) + -y (4).

Entries linking to telescopy

"optical instrument by means of which distant objects appear nearer and larger," 1640s, from Italian telescopio (Galileo, 1611), and Modern Latin telescopium (Kepler, 1613), both from Greek tēleskopos "far-seeing," from tēle- "far" (from PIE root *kwel- (2) "far" in space or time) + -skopos "watcher" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe").

Said to have been coined by Prince Cesi, founder and head of the Roman Academy of the Lincei (Galileo was a member).

Used in English in Latin form from 1619. An earlier English term for a telescope was trunk (1610s) in the "box, case" sense, short for perspective trunk, The dim constellation Telescopium was added to the sky atlases by La Caille (1752).

a noun suffix in words from Latin and Greek indicating state, condition, or quality (jealousy, sympathy); also activity or the result of it (victory, history); via Anglo-French and Old French -é, from Latin -ia, Greek -ia, from PIE *-a-, suffix forming abstract or collective nouns.

It is etymologically identical to -ia and the second element in -cy, -ery, -logy, etc. Many of the words were abstract in sense before concrete meanings developed (e.g. embroidery).

The suffix also is sometimes used in modern words of classical formation (inquiry), and by analogy to make alternative forms (innocence/innocency) without signification but useful metrically for an extra syllable (like Spenser's y-).

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