rangefindern.
/ˈreɪn(d)ʒˌfʌɪndə/, U.S. /ˈreɪndʒˌfaɪndər/ 1. An instrument used for estimating the distance between an observer and an object, e.g. in surveying.
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1869 Trewman's Exeter Flying Post 16 June 7/6 Lieutenant Nolan, R.A., has received directions to proceed to Dartmoor forthwith and instruct the Batteries in the use of his ‘range finder’.
1908 Geogr. Jrnl. 31 148 The gorge..is remarkably trench-like and regular... Its width from crest to crest, if my measurement with a range-finder be trustworthy, is approximately 40 yards.
1945 Geogr. Rev. 35 544 During our survey all major streams were resurveyed (compass and range finder, traverses over land by compass and chain).
2001 R. T. Azuma in W. Barfield & T. Caudell Fund. Wearable Computers & Augmented Reality ii. 51 For some applications a depth map of the real environment would be sufficient... Sensors such as laser rangefinders might be used.
2. Military. A device attached to a weapon to estimate the distance from a target.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > range- or position-finder
position-finder1876
rangefinder1876
mekometer1894
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 326/2 Range-finder, an instrument for ascertaining the range of a piece of ordnance or small-arm.
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 38 He..was..followed by his trumpeter and a man with the six-foot tube of a range-finder strapped to the saddle.
1973 Times 1 Oct. 16/5 One estimate is that it [sc. a new tank] might cost as much as £200,000 by the time one has installed the £50,000 fire control system with its laser range-finder and computer.
1990 Defense Update Internat. No. 99. 46/2 A fire control computer controls a laser rangefinder to exactly determine range.
3. Photography. An instrument used as a visual aid to focusing a non-reflex camera, usually internal and coupled to the lens. Also: a camera so equipped.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > lens > other lens attachments
focuser1861
rangefinder1930
beam-splitter1935
starburst1967
1930 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 33/3 A new ‘gravity range finder’ that clips to the camera bed eliminates guesswork in judging the distance.
1934 R. M. Fanstone Mod. Miniature Cameras ii. 7 This camera has automatic focussing by means of a range finder coupled to the focussing adjustment of the lens.
1958 Oxf. Mail 19 May 7/2 Coupled rangefinder. This means a rangefinder which you work usually by making two images coincide. It is coupled to the lens, so that when you have focussed the image on the rangefinder the lens is automatically focussed.
1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 13/1 The range-finder focusing system uses two windows,..one the actual viewfinder and another placed further along the camera body.
1992 Camera & Darkroom Feb. 14/2 The current trend back to rangefinders has been motivated by..an implacable need in the marketplace for smaller, cheaper, less confusing cameras for tyros and snapshooters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1869