monocle
/ˈmɒnək(ə)l
/noun
A single eyeglass, kept in position by the muscles around the eye.The knight was now looking around through a single monocle at all the boys passing by, sizing one up for a leader....
- His eyes were a raven black and one eye wore a monocle that was positioned across his nose.
- Finally, out of its leather pouch came his monocle - a plain lens in a rolled gold double rim.
Synonyms
eyeglass, glass
historical lorgnette, quizzing glass
Derivatives
monocled
- That hasn't stopped the monocled Crown Prince, whose opulent lifestyle includes a multi-million-dollar mansion.
- The monocled gentlemen at America's top nut factory developed a tempting canned nut medley: Planter's Mixed Nuts.
- The woman who sat across from Price in the first class train coach was more loquacious than her monocled husband who sat beside her, absorbed in his newspaper.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from French (earlier in the sense 'one-eyed'), from late Latin monoculus 'one-eyed'.
This goes back to Latin monoculus ‘one-eyed’ in contrast with binoculars (recorded from E18th, but only from 1871 in the normal modern sense) which are used with both eyes. The element mono ‘one’, which was borrowed by Latin from Greek, is found in many words including monochrome (mid 17th century) combined with Greek chroma ‘colour’; monogamy (early 17th century) with gamos ‘marriage; monologue (mid 17th century) with logos ‘word, speech’; and monopoly (mid 16th century) from polein ‘sell’.