Standard Lemma guide

kaleidoscope

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskəʊp/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /kəˈlaɪ.dəˌskoʊp/
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 L AY1 D AH0 S K OW2 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A constantly changing series of colours or other things.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A swarm of butterflies.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To move in shifting (and often attractive or colourful) patterns.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

an optical toy in a tube; it produces symmetrical patterns as bits of colored glass are reflected by mirrors

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: plaything, toy

6

noun

Meaning 6

a complex pattern of constantly changing colors and shapes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: form, shape, pattern

History

Etymology

The noun is derived from Ancient Greek καλός (kalós, “beautiful, lovely”) + εἶδος (eîdos, “form, image, shape”) + English -scope (suffix denoting an instrument used for examination or viewing), coined by the British scientist David Brewster (1781–1868) in his 1817 patent for the invention: see the quotation. The verb is derived from the noun.

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مِشْكَال (miškāl) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Armenian: գեղադիտակ (geġaditak) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Armenian: կալեյդոսկոպ (kaleydoskop) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Burmese: ကလိုင်ဒိုစကုပ် (ka.luingduica.kup) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Catalan: calidoscopi — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Chinese Cantonese: 萬花筒 /万花筒 (maan6 faa1 tung2) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Chinese Mandarin: 萬花筒 /万花筒 (wànhuātǒng) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Czech: kaleidoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Czech: krasohled — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Danish: kalejdoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Dutch: caleidoscoop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Esperanto: kalejdoskopo — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Finnish: kaleidoskooppi — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • French: kaléidoscope — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • French: caléidoscope — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • German: Kaleidoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Greek: καλειδοσκόπιο (kaleidoskópio) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Hungarian: kaleidoszkóp — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Indonesian: kaleidoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Italian: caleidoscopio — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Japanese: 万華鏡 (mangekyō) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Kyrgyz: калейдоскоп (kaleydoskop) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Latin: calidoscopium — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Polish: kalejdoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Portuguese: caleidoscópio — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Russian: калейдоско́п (kalejdoskóp) — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Slovak: kaleidoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Spanish: caleidoscopio — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Spanish: calidoscopio — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Tagalog: kaledoskopyo — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Thai: กล้องสลับลาย — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Turkish: kaleydoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Turkish: çiçek dürbünü — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Turkmen: kaleýdoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Vietnamese: kính vạn hoa — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Volapük: kalädoskop — instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen
  • Danish: kalejdoskop — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Finnish: kaleidoskooppi — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • German: Kaleidoskop — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Polish: kalejdoskop — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Spanish: caleidoscopio — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Spanish: calidoscopio — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Turkish: çiçek dürbünü — constantly changing series of colours or other things
  • Turkish: kaleydoskop — constantly changing series of colours or other things