/ˈfəʊkʌɪ/, /ˈfəʊsʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈfoʊˌsaɪ/.focusn.
/ˈfəʊkəs/, U.S. /ˈfoʊkəs//ˈfəʊkʌɪ/, /ˈfəʊsʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈfoʊˌsaɪ/. 1. † a. A hearth; a fire in a hearth; (also) an altar. Chiefly figurative and in figurative contexts. Obsolete.
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society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > altar > [noun]
altareOE
wevedc897
ariel1382
aire1581
focus1638
thysiastery1657
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace
hearthOE
chimneya1330
easter1459
hearthsteada1500
smoke1605
fireplace1611
hearthing1612
focus1638
fire nook1683
firebox1825
1638 D. Featley Transubstant. Exploded 41 For which those of your Church contend, tanquam pro aris & focis, and well may you so doe, for it furnisheth your ara and your focus too.
1642 R. Cudworth Disc. Lords Supper vi. 63 There must be a Continuall Fire kept, in this House of Gods, upon the Altar, as the Focus of it.
1648 J. Johnson Balsamum Britannicum 23 Keepe the Heart with all diligence, for thereout are the issues of life; this is the very focus where the calenture of contention is bred, the Fornace where all the flames of wranglings are kindled.
1716 J. Arbuthnot To Mayor & Aldermen City of London: Humble Petition 2 To know the due Distances of the said Focus's or Fires.
1779 J. Moore View Society & Manners France I. xx. 175 I consider these men as the enemies of their country, and that place as a focus for consuming freedom.
b. A source of light, radiant heat, or other radiation.
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1654 W. Charleton Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana i. v. 42 The rayes of Light are certain Corporeal..Effluviums transmitted from the luminous Body, or Focus.
1733 Dugdale & P. Shaw tr. B. Varenius et al. Compl. Syst. Gen. Geogr. I. ii. vi. 79 The Sun is not only the glorious Fountain of Light..; but is also the Focus of Heat and the Source of vital Spirits; whereby the whole Universe is subsisted and nourished.
1794 J. Hutton Diss. Philos. Light 174 Surrounding particles receiving that addition of heat from the focus, are made to burn; and in burning, these coals return that heating species of light to the focus, for the increase of its burning.
?c1842 ‘German Jew’ Existence Christ Disproved! vii. 64 As the Sun's rays produce analagous [sic] effects, that luminary was considered as the focus of heat, and the generator of life.
1870 T. L. Phipson tr. A. Guillemin Sun i. 35 Sir John Herschel..shows, in a very original manner, the prodigious activity of this immense focus of heat [sc. the Sun].
1914 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Story of Duciehurst 181 The yellow glow of the lamp at one end of the table was a rayonnant focus of light amidst the gloom of the great, lofty apartment.
1992 Cryptogamic Bot. 2 346/2 The different values of light intensity and temperature were obtained by placing the dishes further from the respective focus of light and heat.
2. Geometry.
a. A fixed point relative to which a given curve can be defined by means of a relation governing the distances between that point and each point of the curve; esp. a fixed point for which the ratio between the distance from that point to every point of a given conic section and that from the same point of the conic section to the directrix is constant.
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the world > relative properties > number > geometry > point > [noun] > of intersection or contact > of specific lines or curves
cuspis1646
focus1656
point of reflection1674
umbilicus1704
cuspid1743
cusp1758
rhamphoid1814
biplanar1849
oscnode1852
tacnode1852
tangential of a point1858
cnicnode1869
uniplane1869
unode1869
1656 T. Hobbes Six Lessons v. 49 in Elements Philos. The Focus of an Hyperbole, is in the Axis.
1690 I. Newton Let. Mar. in Corr. (1961) III. 73 If from either focus of any Ellipsis unto any point in ye perimeter of ye Ellipsis be drawn a right line, & another right line doeth touch ye Ellipsis in yt point, & ye angle of contact be subtended by any third right line drawn parallel to ye first line [etc.].
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 32 Which two points are called the Focusses, or burning points.
1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 19 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) The Orbits of the Planets are..Ellipses, in whose Focus the Sun is.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 96 The ellipse and hyperbola have each two foci; but the parabola only one.
1851 J. P. Nichol Archit. Heavens (ed. 9) 199 The second star being in the focus and not the centre of the ellipse.
1866 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 31 297 Let P be any point in a twisted Cartesian whose foci are F, G, H.
1911 J. H. Tanner & J. Allen Brief Course Anal. Geom. viii. 137 The equation of a parabola, with any given focus and directrix, can be obtained directly from this definition.
1948 Amer. Math. Monthly 55 487 Each Cassini oval of C has as its foci the principal diagonal elements of the corresponding matrix of M.
2008 J. P. Cullerne & A. Machacek Lang. Physics iii. 66 Kepler's first law: Planets move on ellipses with the Sun at one of the foci.
b. Any of various points whose mathematical relationship to a given surface or solid is regarded as analogous to that between a conic section and its focus or foci; esp. a point that is the centre of a cone (regarded in projective geometry as a sphere of radius zero) which is tangent to a given quadric surface in only two (imaginary) points. Now rare.
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1841 Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1836–40 1 89 The author has found that surfaces of the second order may be generated by means of a given point as focus, a given right line as directrix, and a given plane.
1844 Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1840–4 2 472 The foci of the generating curves are also foci of the surfaces.
1862 G. Salmon Treat. Analytic Geom. Three Dimensions vii. 99 We may define a focus of a quadric as an infinitely small sphere having double contact with the quadric.
1903 C. M. Jessop Treat. Line Complex xii. 242 To a double tangent of the singular surface of a complex there corresponds a focus of a surface.
1945 Science 16 Mar. 275 The foci constitute an ellipse in one plane and a hyperbola in another.
3. Acoustics. A place or point where sound waves converge, esp. after being reflected.Quot. 1658 shows a use of sense 2a in the context of foci of an elliptical arch acting as points at which sounds converge.
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the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > point of convergence
focusc1660
1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus iv, in Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall 184 Whispering places are framed by Ellipticall arches laid side-wise; where the voice being delivered at the focus of one extremity..will reflect unto the focus of the other end, and so escape the ears of the standers in the middle.]
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 106 Standing at one of the focus's, which is under a tree..the Voyce seemes to descend from the Clowds.
1745 tr. H. Boerhaave Acad. Lect. Theory Physic IV. 179 If now we form a Machine which can receive a great Number of sonorous Rays, reflect them together, and afterwards direct them into a Focus; then the Strength of the Sound will be increased in that Focus.
1847 J. Martineau Endeavours Christian Life II. xxi. 337 Could we only find the focus of those stray tones.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) iii. 270 We were exactly in the focus of many echoes.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio i. 23 An assembly consisting of a cardioid or omnidirectional microphone fitted at the focus of a parabolic reflector is also strongly directional.
1996 Q. Jrnl. Royal Astron. Soc. 37 670 When the pointer is in line with the source of sound the reflected focus is intercepted by the sound collector at the focus-receiver, and the sound conveyed to the ears of the attendant.
4. Medicine. Originally: the place within the body where a disease originates. In later use also: any localized area of disease, esp. infection or inflammation; an area of abnormal electrical activity in the brain or heart, esp. when giving rise to epileptic seizures or cardiac arrhythmia.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > [noun] > seat of disease
grief1577
focus1663
foyer1878
storm centre1894
1663 G. Harvey Archelogia Philosophica Nova II. ii. i. 213 The Focus (or Uterus as van Helmont terms it, that is the place where a stone or gravel is generated) must be a close hollow place.
1676 C. Goodall Colledge of Physicians Vindicated ii. 50 And the Sylvians as strongly contend that these Intermittents have their focus in the Pancreas.
1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician vi. 183 That the focus [L. focum] of burning fevers is in the Head Hippocrates seems to assert.
1726 J. Floyer Comment Hist. Hippocrates i. 16 In Rheumatisms, the Chyle or Serum is made Sizey by cold Air, and this stops in the Muscles, and there is the Focus of a rheumatic Fever.
1799 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (ed. 2) III. 231 She informed me that the focus of my disorder was in the nerves.
1875 C. H. Jones & E. H. Sieveking Man. Pathol. Anat. (ed. 2) 304 Sclerosis of particular regions or isolated foci occurs in the Cord as in the brain.
1876 J. Van Duyn & E. C. Seguin tr. E. L. Wagner Man. Gen. Pathol. 586 Pyæmia, Septico-pyæmia, is usually an acute disease, starting in a purulent or ichorous focus.
1908 Practitioner Jan. 22 Some toxin either generated in loco..or reaching the skin from some distant focus of disease.
1910 V. Horsley in Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Dec. 1833/2 By focalized epilepsy I mean all varieties of epilepsy in which the focus or starting point of the seizure can be localized to one lobe of the cerebrum.
1977 Ann. Internal Med. 86 459/2 All of these four patients had undrained foci of infection.
2000 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 23 Sept. 717/1 The aim of catheter ablation is to eliminate the arrhythmia by locating and ablating the safest and most accessible point that will either transect and interrupt a re-entrant circuit or eliminate a focus.
2011 Clin. & Exper. Dermatol. 36 277 The tuberculids are a group of rare cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions that occur in response to a distant focus of mycobacterial infection.
5. Optics.
a. The point (or either of the points: see note) on the focal axis of a curved mirror, lens, or lens system at which rays initially parallel to the focal axis converge (or from which they appear to diverge) after reflection or refraction; = focal point n. 1a, principal focus n. at principal adj., n., and adv. Compounds.A mirror with spherical or parabolic curvature has one focal point; a lens has two, one on each side.For a lens (or combination of lenses) in which chromatic aberration has not been corrected, electromagnetic radiation of different wavelengths will have different focal points.actinic focus, chemical focus, conjugate foci, principal focus, solar focus, etc.: see first element.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > focal length or point
focus1664
focus1666
focal distance1684
focal point1692
burning-point1698
short focusa1830
visual focus1837
1664 H. Oldenburg Let. 3 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 387 It would be a matter worthy of inquiry, to know, what may be the aperture in each glasse of such and such a distance from the Focus.
1693 E. Halley in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 961 This Dioptrick Problem, is that of finding the Focus of any sort of Lens.
1704 I. Newton Opticks i. ii. 117 The Colours which..pass on to the Focus of the Lens, will there compound..such a Colour as..ought to result from their mixture.
1776 G. Campbell Philos. of Rhetoric I. i. ii. 68 Humour..may..be aptly compared to a concave mirrour, when the object is placed beyond the focus; in which case it appears by reflection, both diminished and inverted.
1845 C. Varley Treat. Optical Drawing Instr. 10 The image most visible to the eye with such a lens is between the red and yellow foci.
1869 J. Tyndall in Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1868 301 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. No. 83) The eye..was caused to approach the point of convergence of invisible rays. The focus was attained, first by the pupil and afterwards by the retina.
1914 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 3 Feb. 78/2 Divergent rays of light emanating from one focus of the compound reflector will..converge toward the other focus thereof.
1994 S. Hetata tr. N. El Saadawi Innocence of Devil iii. 32 What was it that she was seeing inside the lens of the camera?.. Perhaps it was just a vacuum, an emptiness which gathered around the focus of the lens.
2003 M. Pendergrast Mirror Mirror (2004) xiii. 336 On his desk is an inch-thick piece of iron with a hole in it, from which frozen iron tears flow—evidence of the 3,000 degrees centigrade reached at the solar mirror's focus.
b. Any point at which rays converge (or from which rays appear to diverge) in reflection or refraction. Cf. virtual focus at virtual adj. 5.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > meeting point
focus1664
visual point1679
focal point1713
chemical focus1841
point focus1908
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > [noun] > emission or diffusion > energy produced by > directed flow > meeting point of
focus1664
focal point1692
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > point from which rays proceed
radiant point1665
focus1704
focal point1713
radiant1728
radiator1811
point source1894
1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours ii. ii. 122 It Reflected a great deal of Glaring Light, but so Dispers'd, that we could not make the Reflected Beams concurr in any such Conspicuous Focus.
1685 R. Boyle Ess. Effects of Motion ii. 13 Sunbeams refracted or reflected by a burning-glass to a focus.
1704 I. Newton Opticks i. i. 7 The Point from which Rays diverge or to which they converge may be called their Focus.
1760 P. Miller Gardeners Kalendar (ed. 12) 149 The spherical drops of water which remain on their [sc. the leaves] surface, causing the rays of the sun to converge to a focus meeting in a point.
1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics i. 11 The points that were formerly the radiant points being now the foci.
1865 D. Livingstone & C. Livingstone Narr. Exped. Zambesi ii. 59 This deep trough-like shape caused the sun's rays to converge as into a focus.
1920 C. W. Washburne Common Sci. v. 154 The light is bent toward a focus, but it reaches the eye before the focus is formed.
2000 R. Greenler Chasing Rainbow 145 The light rays diverge as if they were coming from a focus inside the bubble.
c. = focal length n. at focal adj. Compounds.long-focus, short focus, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > focal length or point
focus1664
focus1666
focal distance1684
focal point1692
burning-point1698
short focusa1830
visual focus1837
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > focusing
focusc1826
1666 Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 203 According to the differing refraction of the interposed Liquors, so shall the Focus of this compound Glass be longer or shorter.
1692 W. Molyneux Dioptrica Nova 166 Let us suppose that an excellent Object-Glass of twelve Foot Focus will receive an Eye-Glass of no shorter a Focus than three Inches with Clearness and Distinctness.
1713 W. Derham Let. 20 Feb. in I. Newton Corr. (1975) V. 379 The Eye-glass accompanying it..is but 6 inches Focus: I therefore make use of Eye-glasses of a longer Focus.
1758 J. Ellis in Philos. Trans. 1757 (Royal Soc.) 50 287 A lens of about one inch and half focus.
c1826 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) XVIII. 717/2 The focus of the lens being suited to the distance of the needle.
1874 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 3 Apr. 155/1 These [lenses]..will yield a combination..of six inches focus; and it is not possible to make of those two any shorter focus than this.
1911 Monthly Reg. Soc. Pract. Astron. Oct. 55 With a larger telescope, of longer focus, there is..a greater advantage.
1963 D. Botting in A. Smith Throw out Two Hands 263 It was possible to make hand-held movie shots (using pistol-grip or shoulder pod) with lenses of longer focus than usual.
2013 V. A. Soifer Computer Design Diffractive Optics xi. 872 Recording was carried out using a lens with a 4 mm focus and a spatial resolution of 640 nm.
d. The location relative to a lens, mirror, or other optical system, where images of distant objects are formed. Cf. focal plane n.
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1674 R. Hooke Attempt to prove Motion of Earth 20 The Mensurator by which I measured the exact distance of the Stars from our Zenith..may be also made use of..for many other mensurations made by Telescopes or Microscopes, if it be so placed as to be in the focus of the Object Glass and Eye Glass.
1687 Philos. Trans. 1686–7 (Royal Soc.) 16 170 In the Focus..there is a distinct Representation of the Objects to be received on a piece of Paper..; and the Eye being placed..at this place..sees all in confusion.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. iv. ii. 89 If the Paper that receives the Images be..in the Focus of the Glass, [the Image will be] distinct.
1771 tr. in Monthly Rev. Apr. 328 If the live coals be placed in the focus of the speculum, and the rays, reflected from thence, be received on another speculum.., inflammable bodies may be kindled in the focus of the second speculum.
1863 J. F. W. Herschel in Good Words 4 277/2 A far greater heat than can be produced in the focus of any burning-glass.
1909 G. Forbes Hist. Astron. iv. 129 The spectroscope is placed with its slit in the focus of an equatorial telescope, pointed to the sun.
1965 BioScience 15 773 (caption) The image is formed at the focus of the imaging optics, which may be the eye, a camera lens, or a special objective.
2014 D. R. Faulkner New Astron. Bk. vi. 43 Comparison of (a) refracting and (b) reflecting telescopes... In both cases, the image formed at the focus is viewed with a small magnifying lens called an eyepiece.
e. The location at which an object must be situated such that a given lens or combination of lenses will produce a sharply defined image of it. Also: the point or area upon which an eye, camera, etc., is focused at a particular time. Cf. depth of focus n. (a) at Phrases 4.
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the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > focus
focus1696
1696 W. S. Gray in Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 281 I move the Object to and fro, till it be in the focus [of the Aquæous lens].
1758 J. Cuff Descr. Double & Single Microscope 8 After having observed the object with the single Microscope, one has a mind to place it in the focus of the double one.
1778 Philos. Trans. 1777 (Royal Soc.) 67 799 Valuable as the object-glass micrometer undoubtedly is, some difficulties have been found in the use of it, owing to the alterations in the focus of the eye.
1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 228 At the nearest focus of distinct vision.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge i. 232 John gradually concentrated the whole power of his eyes into one focus.
1857 A B C of Photogr. (ed. 2) 44 The focus of a portrait lens is very limited in depth.
1894 J. E. Gore tr. C. Flammarion Pop. Astron. iv. viii. 462 Take a drop of brackish water, of which the appearance as well as the taste is repugnant, and place it in the focus of a solar microscope.
1935 Washington Post 3 Apr. 18/6 Out of the focus of the camera is another piano.
1950 C. W. Valentine Psychol. & its Bearing on Educ. xviii. 232 When we are looking attentively at a map on the wall, we find that a certain thing, say a river mouth, is in the focus of vision and seen clearly.
2012 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109 13616/1 N2 is the number of molecules observed in the focus of the microscope at any given time.
f. The level of clarity and definition in a photograph, film, image, etc.; the extent to which an image is in focus (in focus at Phrases 2). Chiefly with modifying word, as good, sharp, etc.; see also soft focus adj. and n.
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1871 Photographer's Friend July 116/1 There is great depth and exceedingly sharp focus over the whole picture.
1887 Photogr. News 28 Oct. 678/1 If a low power be used, a good focus can be secured on the ordinary ground-glass screen.
1898 Photo Era May 13/1 Two portraits in which the focus is sharp, one of Mr. Choate and one of Professor James, are excellent.
1921 Camera June 295 This is no argument for a very soft or fuzzy focus, but it is an argument for a reasonable degree of moderation in sharpness.
1939 W. T. Skilling & R. S. Richardson Astron. iii. 82 The Schmidt telescope..can photograph a very large area in the sky, giving sharp focus clear to the edge of the picture.
1975 Physics Bull. Nov. 481/2 The image magnification..can be zoomed continuously up to × 15 000 000 with no change in image focus or brightness.
2009 New Scientist 14 Nov. 24/4 High-quality cameras can capture part of a scene in sharp focus while leaving the background blurred.
g. A control, facility, or mechanism by which a camera or optical instrument is adjusted to produce a sharply defined image.
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1901 F. H. Eckstorm Bird Bk. ii. 109 It will be long before any camera is advertised with an automatic focus.
1975 E. Schaeffer Christianity is Jewish ix. 97 Twist and turn the focus of your opera glasses.
1996 C. Naish tr. J. Vermeil Conversat. with Boulez iv. 70 It's like when you look through a telescope... If you turn the focus a bit too much, the object's blurred, and if you don't turn it enough, it's blurred too.
2015 Broadcast Pro Middle East (Nexis) 8 Mar. Being able to adjust the iris with my right hand allowed me to keep the camera steady and my left hand on the focus.
6. figurative and in extended use (chiefly from senses 5b and 5e).† c. Theatre. The best-lit part of a stage. Obsolete.
a. A point of convergence or concentration; (now usually) an object of sustained or intense interest or attention. Later also as a mass noun: sharp mental definition or prominence (cf. sense 5f).
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the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > [noun] > focus of attention
centre1582
focus1751
focal point1755
nodal point1862
centre stage1887
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle II. lxxii. 276 He..contracted his discourse into the focus of love.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 224 Centring in a focus, round and neat, Let all your rays of information meet.
1824 T. Carlyle Let. 4 Dec. in Coll. Lett. T. & J. W. Carlyle (1970) III. 213 I am meditating..on the great focus of all purposes at present, the arranging of my future life.
1827 Inspector May 96 The work..became more and more the focus of all his efforts, and of his best energies.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 106 If it [sc. a picture] be placed over the altar, it is in the very focus of the building.
1925 G. H. Thomson Instinct, Intelligence & Char. 112 The words form definite foci for thoughts which would otherwise be vague.
1950 R. Macaulay World my Wilderness ix. 83 She did not care for the distant prospect of the Highlands; still less as it neared and acquired focus and clarity.
1980 D. Lodge How far can you Go? (1981) ii.54 She liked the idea of being the focus of attention for a full hour in her bridal dress.
2006 Church Times 15 Sept. 18/1 A skateboarding contest..provides a focus to many of the young people, who sit on bales of hay around the ‘quarter pipe’ watching others perfect their jumps.
b. The sustained or intense concentration of interest and attention on a particular thing; an instance of this. Also: the ability to sustain such concentration.
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1833 J. Sargent Life Rev. T. T. Thomason iii. 59 Mr. Thomason did not lose sight of higher objects, when he concentrated his intellectual powers, and bent their focus on mathematics.
1898 Cornhill Mag. Nov. 615 Have you ever noticed the sown broadcast smile—pathetic almost in its want of focus and concentration—which the typical clergy assume at a garden-party?
1935 D. Seabury Keep your Wits xiii. 167 If I would listen to my mind and keep my focus upon what imagination, memory, reason, and judgment might suggest to me.., I would get good results.
1966 Princeton Alumni Weekly 8 Feb. 9/2 His focus is on the texts, using biographical detail only so far as it illuminates them.
1992 D. K. Denton Recruitm., Retention, & Employee Relations v. 49 It [sc. the awards program] is designed to reinforce desired behavior, such as quality work and a focus on the customer.
2015 Sunday Times (Nexis) 8 Mar. (Sport section) 12 Her rise to Olympic champion in such a short period of time demonstrated her incredible focus and determination.
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society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [noun] > best-lit part
focus1881
1881 Era Almanack 97 He tried to keep me out of the focus!
1885 Eng. Illustr. Mag. July 647/1 Everybody tried to get into what was called the focus—the ‘blaze of publicity’ furnished by the ‘float’ or footlights.
1916 Theatre Dec. 404/3 The old actresses..walked across the stage and changed sides with the performer who was to speak next, thus permitting him or her ‘to get into the focus’, as the term went.
7.
a.
(a) The centre or place of origin of a natural phenomenon or process, such as a volcanic eruption or volcanic activity, the dispersal or radiation of a species, etc.; (also) †the eye of a storm (obsolete).
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the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [noun] > centre of natural phenomenon
focus1778
1778 T. West Guide to Lakes 136 There is a large crater, that from the parched colour of the conical mountains, in whose bosom it is formed, appears to have been the focus of a volcano in some distant period of time, and the cones produced by explosion.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature I. p. lxviii The focus of the tides is removing farther and farther from our coasts.
1832 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. (ed. 2) II. 127 The original isle was the primitive focus, or centre, of a certain type of vegetation.
1862 G. P. Scrope Volcanos (ed. 2) 266 Any..focus or reservoir of lava from which an eruption has proceeded.
1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius ii. 13 Vesuvius was seen to be the focus of the eruption.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. iv. 62 The centre or focus of the West Indian hurricanes.
1931 Geogr. Rev. 21 274 Situated at a volcanic focus surrounded by a roughly circular rampart of volcanic rocks, this lake has the appearance of a caldera.
1980 Brittonia 32 89 The main focus of radiation presently taking place within [Oxytheca parishii] var. parishii appears to be the San Bernardino Mountains.
2005 O. L. Chavarría-Aguilar tr. G. E. Alvarado-Induni Costa Rica: Land of Volcanoes i. 65 In the northwest base of the Cacao volcano there is a volcanic focus from which andesitic-basaltic and andesitic lavas spilled forth.
(b) Seismology. A centre of seismic activity; spec. the place beneath the earth's surface where an earthquake originates (also called centrum and hypocentre).
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1804 C. B. Brown tr. C. F. de Volney View Soil & Climate U.S.A. 98 One of the great layers of the country, where earthquakes have their principal focus [Fr. principal foyer].
1862 R. Mallet Great Neapolitan Earthquake 1857 II. xxx. 45 With much curiosity, I made the calculation, for the first approximation to the depth of the focus, ever attempted for any earthquake.
1905 C. Davison Study Recent Earthquakes i. 3 The region within which the displacement occurs is sometimes called the hypocentre, but more frequently the seismic focus, or simply the focus.
1935 Sci. News Let. 1 June 356/1 Late July should see, somewhere in the world, a severe earthquake with its focus, or center of motion, relatively close to the surface of the earth.
1990 P. Kearey & F. J. Vine Global Tectonics v. 73 Earthquakes are classified according to their focal depths: 0–70 km shallow focus, 70–300 km intermediate focus, greater than 300 km deep focus.
2005 M. Bjornerud Reading Rocks iii. 75 The energy released travels from the point of rupture (the focus, or hypocenter) outward in spherical waves, and when these waves reach the ground surface, an earthquake is felt.
b. figurative. With of, for. A source or centre of an activity, knowledge, a quality, etc.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 6a.In quot. 1796: a spell or peak of such activity or energy.
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the world > space > relative position > central condition or position > [noun] > position of being in the midst > point which forms centre for its surroundings > centre of activity, operations, etc.
metropolis1599
metropolitana1620
focus1796
foyer1799
nerve-knot1832
hub1858
nerve centre1870
storm centre1894
nexus1971
1796 Berkeley Hall; or, Pupil of Experience II. xxix. 290 Mr. Puncheon had been canvassing for some days, and was in the very focus of his power.
1803 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) II. 440 Poonah is the focus of his intrigues.
1830 R. Knox tr. P. A. Béclard Elements Gen. Anat. Life 8 Central Schools..had been established in the departments as so many foci of knowledge.
1866 T. H. Huxley Lay Serm. in Fortn. Rev. 15 Jan. 628 The ‘Royal Society for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge’ had..acquired a claim..as the principal focus of scientific activity.
1942 Soc. Insurance (App. G to Beveridge Rep.) 36 The Health Centre could be the focus for all social work among the incapacitated.
1986 Amer. Ethnol. 13 5 The chiefship..now became one of two foci of authority.
2001 L. Mitton Victorian Hosp. 9 Medical students needed bedside experience on the wards, not just anatomy classes, so hospitals became a focus for medical education.
8. Linguistics. An element of a sentence or clause that is given prominence by intonational or other means.Recorded earliest in information focus.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > word or phrase of specific rank or importance
quaternary1899
adjunct1914
subjunct1914
adnex1924
primary1924
secondary1924
tertiary1924
focus1966
1966 J. C. Catford in College Eng. May 607/2 As is often the case, tonicity here indicates information focus.
1970 N. Chomsky in R. Jakobson & S. Kawamoto Stud. Gen. & Oriental Linguistics 71 It would be natural to try to determine the focus and presupposition directly from the deep structure.., the focus being the predicate of the dominant position of the deep structure. Alternatively, one might propose that the focus is determined by the surface structure, namely, as the phrase containing the intonation center.
1976 L. Lipka in Archivum Linguisticum New Ser. 7 137 In the pseudo-cleft sentence..the verbal action is topicalized with the help of do (which is known), while the main verb may be made the ‘focus’, as in What John did was KILL Harry.
1997 D. Büring Meaning of Topic & Focus ii. 41 The question test is the most popular means of determining Focus in the answer. The rule of thumb is: the Focus corresponds to the question word.
2012 A. E. Baker & K. Hengeveld Linguistics v. 112 At the beginning of a story all the information is new. How do narrators get around this problem in languages that place their focus at the end of the sentence?
Phrases
P1. to bring to a focus and variants: (a) Optics to cause (rays of light, sound waves, etc.) to converge to a single point or place; (b) figurative to draw together (thoughts, ideas, resources, etc.); (also) to make clear or evident.For to bring into focus: see Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > fix the attention, concentrate [verb (transitive)] > implant, fix > at central point
concentrate1632
concentricate1647
to bring to a focus1730
focus1807
polarize1868
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > radiate or transmit light [verb (transitive)] > bring to a focal point
condense1787
focalize1827
to bring to a focus1860
focus1870
1730 W. Cheselden Anat. Human Body (ed. 4) App. ii. 348 By which the rays cannot be brought into a Focus upon the Retina.
1750 C. Fleming Devout Laugh 5 Your sight would have been corrected by church optics, a reconciling medium of vision, that brings into one focus, and an indissoluble union, the world and the church.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) iii. 94 The bringing all these scatter'd Counsels thus into a Focus.
1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Athens II. v. ii. 471 Athens..drew into a focus all the Grecian intellect.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxiv. 354 The place where the rays were brought to a focus behind the lens.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 252 The transactions of many different individuals..are brought to a focus.
1904 F. Rolfe Hadrian VII 34 He brought the argument to a focus with these words, ‘George Arthur Rose, I summon you to offer yourself to me.’
1957 A. Efron Basic Physics I. xi. 149/1 A lens-shaped balloon filled with carbon dioxide will transmit and concentrate a beam of sound, bringing it to a focus.
1977 Harper's Mag. Dec. 42/2 The whole pulsing life of the nation is brought to a focus.
2002 R. Villard Large Telescopes 12 The first telescopes used glass lenses..to bend faint starlight and to bring it to a focus, where all the light beams come together.
P2. in focus.
a. Optics and Photography. With reference to an optical image or photograph of something: sharply defined, clear. With reference to an optical instrument or camera: adjusted so as to produce a sharply defined image. Also similarly into focus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > [adverb] > clearly visible > sharply or distinctly
brightlyOE
clearlyc1300
fairc1390
vively1537
bremely1577
in focus1785
sharply1817
trenchantly1873
eidetically1929
1785 W. Herschel in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 75 63 Double [star]... Hardly visible, and like a star not in focus.
1831 Trans. Soc. Arts 48 415 By bringing first one surface, then the other into focus, the thickness of the lens is ascertained.
1890 W. E. Woodbury Encycl. Photogr. 295 After a certain distance all objects will be in focus.
1914 R. A. Freeman Uttermost Farthing ii. 75 I applied my eye to the instrument and brought the objective into focus.
1950 J. S. Redding Stranger & Alone xxx. 306 Every part of the picture was there and in focus, timeless, changeless.
1992 L. Tuttle Lost Futures 310 She gazed uncomprehending for a few moments before her eyes brought it into focus.
2007 Play: N.Y. Times Sports Mag. June 10 For..the other images in the portfolio, he used a tilt-shift lens, which puts only a small part of the frame into focus.
2016 Mint (Nexis) 6 Feb. We want to have photos with just the food really in focus.
b. figurative. Clearly defined or understood; (also) as an object of attention or concentration; as a subject of discussion or debate; under scrutiny. Also similarly into focus.
ΚΠ
1834 11th Rep. Commissioners Inq. Excise Establishm. App. xix. 219 in Parl. Papers 1835 XXX. 169 No theoretic plan will be searching enough..to take in all the varieties of account, all the diverse ramifications which will have to be brought into focus at the Treasury.
1891 Sunday at Home 9 May 442/1 So world-embracing, for the geography of the time, were the military campaigns of the greater Pharaohs..that the study of their pictorial walls at Thebes is really a story of the old world in focus.
1906 G. Santayana Life of Reason V. vii. 189 In dialectic,..we strive to clarify and develop the essence of what we find, bringing into focus the inner harmonies and implications of forms.
1975 H. S. Thompson Let. 12 Aug. in Fear & Loathing in Amer. (2000) 646 One of the things that is definitely not in focus for me right now is what I plan to do about ‘covering’ the '76 campaign.
1991 Canada Lutheran Nov. 5/3 It is my confidence that as long as we keep Jesus clearly in focus, he will guide us.
2003 Book May 67/2 (advt.) This Master of the Universe struggles to keep the big picture in focus.
2009 New Yorker 23 Feb. 54/3 It threw into focus the terrible divide that occurred between the world of my mother's first husband and the world of the second.
P3. Optics and Photography. out of focus: (with reference to an optical image or photograph of something) poorly defined, blurry; (with reference to an optical instrument or camera) adjusted in a way which produces a poorly defined image. Also figurative (cf. in focus at Phrases 2b). Cf. out-of-focus adj. and n. at out of prep. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1786 C. Herschel Let. 2 Aug. in Philos. Trans. 1787 (Royal Soc.) 77 2 The object in the center is like a star out of focus,..and I suspect it to be a comet.
1814 Philos. Mag. 44 463 A fixed star, when the telescope is put out of focus, should always appear..as a truly round circle of fire with a black spot exactly in its centre.
1894 H. Drummond Lowell Lect. Ascent of Man vi Evolution was given to the modern world out of focus.
1937 W. H. Auden in W. H. Auden & L. MacNeice Lett. from Iceland 21 A bunch of photographs, Some out of focus, some with wrong exposures.
1967 R. Rendell Wolf to Slaughter (1970) iii. 29 He turned round and his opalescent eyes seemed to go out of focus.
2005 R. Fisk Great War for Civilisation ix. 363 Bill and Peggy together by the car, slightly out of focus, a picture that must have been taken by me.
P4.
depth of focus n. Optics and Photography (with reference to a lens or lens system) (a) the distance between the nearest and farthest objects which may be simultaneously brought into focus or (with reference to an image or photograph) which are judged to be in focus; (also) the capacity for simultaneously bringing into focus objects at different distances; (b) the distance between the two extreme positions behind a lens at which an image may be judged to be in focus.In sense (a) perhaps with reference to sense 5e; depth of field (at field n.1 14c) is now often preferred in this sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > qualities of lenses
power1673
refracting angle1676
resolution1831
depth of focus1852
astigmatism1859
aplanatism1869
apochromatism1887
covering power1895
coverage1936
asphericity1944
parfocality1955
1852 Mass. Reg. 328/1 Our panorama of Boston proves the perfection of our instrument. The depth of focus is from the steeple of Park-street Church to the lower Light House and Nahant Hotel.
1857 Jrnl. Photogr. Soc. 21 Dec. 114/2 I certainly believe in the existence of a quality I call depth of focus, and that certain lenses possess it to a much greater extent than others.
1888 Photogr. News 15 June 382/2 T. Sebastian Davis said that depth of focus, as generally understood, was..the amount of play which the focussing screen might have without losing definition.
1939 K. Henney & B. Dudley Handbk. Photogr. iv. 90 A useful accessory included on most miniature cameras and on many larger cameras is a depth-of-field, or depth-of-focus, table.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) II. 431/1 There may be some latitude in focusing in which there is no apparent change in sharpness. This distance is known as the depth of focus.
2005 K. Malkiewicz & M. D. Mullen Cinematogr. (ed. 3) i. 20/2 Unlike depth of field, depth of focus actually decreases for wide-angle prime lenses.
2013 Cambr. Evening News (Nexis) 17 May The aperture you use will have to give enough depth of focus so that the reflected image will also be sharp.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, as focus error, focus point, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [noun] > focus disorder
focus error1827
1827 P. P. King Narr. Surv. Intertropical & Western Coasts Austral. II. iii. 143 He was a good deal surprised at my collecting the rays of the sun upon my own hand..but as I held the glass within the focus distance, no painful sensation was produced.
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 Aug. 2/1 That all railway servants shall have..not more than an agreed amount of focus error.
1933 P. Edgar Art of Novel ii. ix. 106 Let him [sc. the author] disguise himself as a participant—let him even be the focus point of the action as in Esmond—and his report will have credence.
1994 K. Clements Understanding & Servicing CD Players (2002) vi. 111/2 Depress the NEXT key. The laser will switch on, and the focus lens will achieve focus.
2013 H. Hickam Crescent 321 I mostly saw blurs, no matter how much I fiddled with the focus knob.
C2.
focus lock n. Photography and Optics a control, device, or facility which allows the adjustable focus of an optical instrument or camera to be set in a fixed position.
ΚΠ
1920 Photo-miniature Sept. 502 In ‘focusing cameras’ fitted with an ‘automatic focus lock’, the lens is fixed at such a distance from the film or plate that all objects beyond a certain number of feet away from the camera will be in focus.
1992 Esquire July 29/2 With such features as..autofocus, and focus lock, top-of-the-line binoculars work like sophisticated cameras.
2014 Irish Times 28 Aug. (Business & Technol. section) 5/2 Other changes include the option to undo your last recording..; and focus lock now works with the front-facing camera.
focus puller n. Cinematography a member of a film crew who is responsible for measuring the distance between the camera and the subjects to be filmed and for adjusting the focus of the camera accordingly during filming.
ΚΠ
1947 P. Crocker in O. Blakeston Working for Films 151 The clapper boy over a period of years can..[graduate] to focus puller, camera operator and finally to director of photography.
1987 M. Bradbury Cuts xii. 99 ‘Oh, Charles,’ said the fading, failing Lord Bourdalou to the focus puller who was holding the tape at the end of his nose.
2002 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 1 Apr. b1/1 He was a focus puller, standing behind—or rather to the side of—the camera, setting the distance between lens and star.
focus ring n. a circular control on an optical instrument which is rotated to focus the instrument; = focusing ring n. at focusing n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1898 T. B. Jebb Canad. Patent 59,245 6 In an optometer,..the combination with the major and minor cylinders and lenses arranged as specified, of the focus ring, the slot at the bottom of the cylinder, [etc.].
1989 K. Brookes Compl. Video Course 25 Macro focussing is generally done not by the normal focus ring but by the zoom lever.
2014 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 12 Jan. (Herald-Times ed.) f3/3 It helps to use lenses that..allow you to grab the focus ring and make adjustments even when auto-focus is on.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
focusv.
/ˈfəʊkəs/, U.S. /ˈfoʊkəs/ I. Senses relating to the concentration of vision, light, sound, or energy.
1.
a. transitive. To change or adjust the focus of a camera, an optical instrument, the eyes, etc., so as to see a sharply defined image of (an object). Also more generally: to look at or view through a lens, glasses, etc. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (transitive)] > look at or behold > focus
focus1776
focalize1841
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [verb (transitive)] > focus
focus1776
1776 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions IV. lxviii. 9 Sir Charles Crazy focuss'd her through an opera-glass.
1844 Trans. Microsc. Soc. 1 139 In the young and immature cells these organs are very distinctly to be seen, provided the observer focuses the bases and not the apices of the cells.
1882 J. Grant Violet Jermyn xxi. 157 The Hussars, with elevated eyebrows, looked at Scrowle with amazement, Sir Harry focussed him with his eye-glass.
1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England viii. 139 Owing to the recrudescence of what he mysteriously called ‘the old trouble’, he was finding it very difficult to focus the ball clearly.
1989 H. C. Howland & F. Schaeffel in B. L. Finlay & D. R. Sengelaub Devel. Vertebr. Retina xii. 274 During this period, the ability of infants to focus distant targets increases.
b. transitive. To change or adjust the focus of (the eyes, an optical instrument, a camera, etc.) so as to see a sharply defined image of objects at a certain distance. Also more generally (usually with on, upon): to look at or view something with (one's eyes, a camera, etc.).
ΚΠ
1814 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. Oct. 214/1 Accordingly as the eye is supposed to be focussed for seeing the foreground or the distance.
c1860 Sepoy's Daughter ccxxxix. 834/1 The old nobleman..focussed his eyes upon the lady in a manner which might lead her to infer that he was still writhing in torture and agony, completely transfixed by love's dart.
c1865 J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 66/2 Arrangements..for focussing the lenses.
1881 E. B. Tylor Anthropol. ii. 47 The eagle's eyes are focussed to see small objects far beyond man's range.
1916 Everybody's Mag. 34 597 She..looked into his face as though focusing her gaze were a difficult process.
1948 J. Hersey Bernard Baruch in New Yorker 3 Jan. 36/1 He went to his box—in the fourth tier, at some distance to the right of the finish wire—and prepared himself for the day's work: focused his binoculars, folded his dope sheets.
1973 L. Bloom One Word at Time (1976) 146 The photographer was instructed to focus the camera on Allison's activity—on what she was doing and what she was looking at.
2006 Digital Camera Buyer No. 43. 42/2 Five-point AAF auto focus is enough to effectively analyse compositions and focus the camera accordingly.
c. intransitive. Of the eyes, an optical instrument, a camera, etc.: to give, or be adjusted to give, a sharply defined image of an object, scene, etc. Also of a person: to use a camera, one's eyes, etc., to get such an image. Frequently with on, upon.
ΚΠ
1831 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 1827–30 1 139 The telescope was adjusted to focus upon the moon's limb.
1889 Jrnl. Microsc. & Nat. Sci. 2 205 The microscope focusses on the solar image [emitted by the heliostat].
1890 W. E. Woodbury Encycl. Photogr. 294 Focus upon some distinct object about 150 or 200 yards away.
1914 Good Housek. Mag. Mar. 364/1 Elderly people often have good distant vision but are unable to focus on near-by objects.
1938 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 38 896/1 When all these muscles work in harmony the eye focuses properly and one sees a single object.
1997 P. Powrie French Cinema 1980s v. 60 As he begins reading, the camera focuses on the envelope addressed to Manon.
2015 K. Logan Gracekeepers xix. 229 Now the show was starting she found it hard to make her eyes focus.
d. transitive. To cause (an optical image or photograph of something) to have sharp definition; to bring (an image) into focus. Cf. focus n. 5f, into focus at focus n. Phrases 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [verb (transitive)] > focus > bring into focus
focus1857
1857 A B C of Photogr. (ed. 2) 57 Having focussed the right-hand view, half of the sensitive plate is first impressed.
c1865 J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 143/1 The image..is focussed..by..adjusting the lens.
?1881 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) III. 99/2 Unless the picture be accurately focussed, it will appear blurred.
1948 Pop. Sci. Monthly Nov. 120/1 The operator simply focuses the image on the viewer, then rotates the mirror..to angle the image toward the film.
1987 Formations Spring 46/2 Helga Fife focussed the slide—an aerial photograph of the Fermilab complex—and started her lecture by asking them to stop her if things got too technical.
2013 Postmedia Breaking News (Nexis) 8 Dec. This app makes it possible to take pictures which can be focused after the image is made.
2.
a. intransitive. Of rays of light, sound waves, etc.: to converge to or towards a single point or place. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > be absorbed in [verb (intransitive)] > be intent > on a focal point
stick1534
concentre1613
centre1642
focus1858
concentrate1899
home1955
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > emit rays of light [verb (intransitive)] > converge to a focus
focus1858
1858 Jrnl. Photogr. Soc. 21 July 250/1 A small pencil, having D dor its upper ray, focuses almost accurately upon the plane of the focusing screen.
c1865 J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. 53/2 The red and blue rays focus at different points after proceeding from the lens, owing to unequal refrangibility.
1888 Harper's Mag. Apr. 764 The eyes..flamed as if the life of the man had centralized and focussed within them.
1944 E. P. Anderson Audel's Radiomans Guide (new ed.) ii. 13 If the sound waves focus at a point, loud and dead spots are produced.
2007 Focal Encycl. Photogr. (ed. 4) 632/1 With hyperopia, or farsightedness, the rays of light focus behind the retina.
b. transitive. To cause (rays of light, sound waves, etc.) to converge to or towards a single point or place. Cf. to bring to a focus at focus n. Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > emit, transmit [verb (transitive)] > focus
focalize1827
focus1870
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > radiate or transmit light [verb (transitive)] > bring to a focal point
condense1787
focalize1827
to bring to a focus1860
focus1870
1870 Chicago Med. Examiner Sept. 564 He is very much annoyed by the inability to focus the rays of light equally in the two eyes.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. v. 104 The catoptric system..requiring less delicacy in putting up and focussing the light.
1895 Jrnl. Royal Inst. Brit. Archit. 28 Mar. 353 Focussing and concentrating the sound in one or more points in his building.
1950 Life 6 Nov. 136/3 By focusing the sun's rays with a concave reflector, scientists at Kansas City's Rockhurst College create heat four times greater than that of a blast furnace.
2010 J. Al-Khalili Pathfinders (2012) xi. 156 Ibn Sahl..wrote a treatise around 984 called On the Burning Instruments (by which is meant lenses and mirrors that can be used to focus sunlight to create a hot spot).
c. transitive. To concentrate (rays of light, sound waves, etc.) into a narrow beam. Also intransitive: (of light, sound, etc.) to become concentrated into a narrow beam. Frequently with to, into.
ΚΠ
1906 Laryngoscope 16 106 Light capable of being properly focussed and concentrated into a beam small enough to pass through the central aperture of the reflecting mirror to the fundus of the auditory canal.
1924 Science 19 Sept. 271/1 I first observed the phenomenon on looking at a carbon arc focused to a parallel beam.
1978 H. M. Rosenberg Solid State (ed. 2) ii. 34 Electrons can be focussed into narrow beams by electrostatic or magnetic lenses.
2002 Pop. Sci. Oct. 17/1 Hypersonic speakers..focus sound in a tight beam, much like a laser focuses light.
2005 T. Roderick Wicca 203/1 Imagine that the energy of the sun begins to concentrate and focus into a beam that enters your raised palm.
d. intransitive. With on, upon. Of a light: to be directed towards a particular object so as to illuminate it. Also transitive: to direct or shine (a light) towards a particular object.
ΚΠ
1910 N.-Y. Tribune 18 Mar. 8/4 The Brooklyn camp is ablaze to-night, all the lights focusing on a big silver mug.
1926 Lake County Times (Hammond, Indiana) 22 Dec. 5/4 A spot light focused upon the tree is..the safest method of all.
1932 M. R. Rinehart & A. Hopwood Bat ii. 70 (stage direction) Spot focusses on Doctor's face.
1973 J. Lees-Milne Heretics in Love iii. 161 Before I could focus the torch upon the figure..a young voice said calmly..‘Well, Oi'm buggered!’
1988 Orange County (Calif.) Register (Electronic ed.) 3 June 36 The music quiets and the spotlight focuses upon William Solo.
2006 W. Kalush & L. Sloman Secret Life Houdini (2007) vi. 102 Focusing the spotlight directly on the dancing bait.
II. Senses relating to the concentration of attention.
3.
a. transitive. To draw together (thoughts, ideas, resources, etc.) to or upon a focus (focus n. 6a); to concentrate or centre (effort, attention), esp. on something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > earnest attention, concentration > fix the attention, concentrate [verb (transitive)] > implant, fix > at central point
concentrate1632
concentricate1647
to bring to a focus1730
focus1807
polarize1868
1807 Uti Possidetis xxx All the Talent of the Nation Focuss'd in Cab'net concentration.
1862 W. M. Rossetti in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 195 Focussing our observation to a single point.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. iii. 331 He could..instantly focus his thoughts.
1906 Daily Chron. 8 Sept. 3/2 To focus attention on the marvellous intricacies of Nature.
1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four ii. i. 110 Even worse than having to focus his mind on a series of niggling jobs was the need to conceal his agitation from the telescreen.
1995 K. Tobin et al. in S. M. Glynn & R. Duit Learning Sci. in Schools iv. 87 We focus our studies on what is of paramount interest to us.
2015 Times (Nexis) 4 Feb. 23 Uber is to focus its research on vehicle safety, autonomous driving and mapping.
b. transitive (reflexive). To devote one's concentration or attention to something (frequently with on, upon). Also: to clarify or compose one's thoughts.
ΚΠ
1861 J. Brown Horæ Subsecivæ 2nd Ser. 311 Inferior to my father in learning, in intensity,..in power of—so to speak—focussing himself.
1885 Marion (Ohio) Daily Star 17 June The boy..has made up his mind..to focus himself on it and pour himself into it.
1904 Educ. Rev. June 1 The deliberations of many minds..focus themselves upon the problem.
2005 S. Sanghoee Merger 379 She sat down on the edge of the Jacuzzi and tried to focus herself.
4.
a. intransitive. With on (also in on). To concentrate all one's attention on something; to spend one's time working on one particular thing above all others; to pay particular attention to something.
ΚΠ
1906 Educ. Rev. Nov. 386 Twenty-seven freshman courses focus on composition; seven focus on literature; ten give equal attention to both.
1958 W. M. Cruickshank & G. O. Johnson Educ. Exceptional Children & Youth 534 Throughout their long specialized home schooling, the teacher should focus on realism as the over-all theme.
1968 N.Y. Times 22 Jan. 23/4 He said he envisioned a welfare category that would ‘focus in on the better prospects’, assigning special caseworkers to help.
1992 J. Shute Life-size iv. 43 I can't focus on what she's saying: there are lapses, blackouts, as if someone is playing with the sound on a remote control somewhere.
2014 F1 Racing Mar. 119/1 Jean-Eric..is undergoing a metaphorical ‘spring clean’ to sweep away the cobwebs and focus on a new mentality.
b. intransitive. Without construction. To concentrate; to maintain a state of close attention.
ΚΠ
1920 Amer. Schoolmaster 15 Oct. 296/1 We must aim consciously..to assume our share of responsibility for the new American civilization... Our universities have failed to focus.
1940 Observer 25 Feb. 6/3 [The book] is crowded with events and characters, and at times it is hard to focus.
1991 B. Z. Novick & M. M. Arnold Why is my Child having Trouble at School? xv. 179 His ability to focus grows, so he can keep his attention on what he is doing equally well in group situations and on his own.
2009 J. Jennings Hit Ground Running ix. 186 If there's too much on your plate, you get weighed down and it's impossible to focus.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1638v.1776