lenticular
adjective
Did you know?
"Lentil-shaped"—that's the meaning of Latin lenticularis, the parent of English's lenticular. It's an appropriate predecessor because a double-convex lens is one that is curved on both sides, giving it a shape similar to that of a lentil. English speakers borrowed the Latin term in the 15th century. Lenticularis, in turn, derives from lenticula, which is the source of the English word lentil and a diminutive of the Latin form lent-, lens, meaning "lentil." You probably won't be too surprised to learn that lent-, lens also gave English the word lens.
Examples of lenticular in a Sentence
Luke Larsen, Wired News, 25 May 2025
Francisco Negroni's 'Earth and Sky' captures a double lenticular cloud at sundown, lit by the Villarrica volcano.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
The volcano’s light illuminates a double lenticular cloud, or a UFO-like cloud formation created when a mountain disturbs air flow and creates standing waves above it.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025
Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: The Hubble Space Telescope brings us this nearly edge-on view of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4753.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lenticular
Cite this Entry
“Lenticular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lenticular. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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lenticular
adjective
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