prism

Noun

prism (plural prisms)

1. An object having the shape of a geometrical prism (sense 1).
2. A cutting (“open passage at a level lower than the surrounding terrain, dug for a canal, railway, or road to go through”) or an embankment shaped like a prism (sense 1) or a number of prisms, such that its volume can be easily calculated.
3. A crystal in which the faces are parallel to the vertical axis.
4. A transparent block in the shape of a prism (sense 1), typically with triangular ends, used to reflect or refract light.
   • [page 13] One of theſe Parts [of a piece of black paper] I painted vvith a red Colour and the other vvith a blevv. […] This Paper I vievved through a Priſm of ſolid Glaſs, vvhoſe tvvo Sides through vvhich the Light paſſed to the Eye vvere plane and vvell poliſhed, and contained an Angle of about...1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “[The First Book of Opticks. Part I.] Prop[osition] I. Theor[y] I. Lights which Differ in Colour, Differ also in Degrees of Refrangibility.”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the...
   • Here, avvful [Isaac] Newton, the diſſolving clouds / Form, fronting on the ſun, thy ſhovvery priſm; / And to the ſage-inſtructed eye unfold / The various tvvine of light, by thee diſclos'd / From the vvhite mingling maze.a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 10, lines 207–211
5. (archaic) A spectrum produced by light being refracted through a prism.
   • The beams, that thro' the Oriel shine, / Make prisms in every carven glass, […]1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Day-Dream”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 151
6. (broadly) A retroreflector (“device which reflects light back to its source with minimal scattering”) which is usually attached to a surveying pole as a target for a total station which emits a light beam at the device and calculates how long it takes to be reflected back in order to measure distance.
7. (figuratively) A perspective that colours one's perception.
   • I had surveyed the landscape through the prism of poetry, which tinged every object with the hues of the rainbow.1820 September 13, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Stratford-on-Avon”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number VII, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […]...
   • It is a simple fact that many outside the Abu Dhabi-owned club will always view their triumph through the prism of the charges of 115 financial breaches brought against them by the Premier League, charges they fiercely deny.2023 June 10, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 1 – 0 Inter Milan”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2024