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T h e w o r d p ri s m e n t e r e d t h e E n g l i s h la n g u a g e i n t he m i d 1 6 t h c e n t u r y w i t h t h e me a n i n g a t y p e o f s o l i d f i g u r e . 1 T h i s se n se d e s c e n d e d f r o m t h e L a t e L a t i n p ri sm a a n d t he G r e e k
p ri s m a me a n i n g l i t e r a l l y s o me t h i n g
s a w e d f r o m p ri ze in t o s a w. T h e w o r d s a p p li c a t i o n t o o p t i c s d a t e s t o the early 17th century. Among its d e f i n i t i o n s w e h a ve : 1. A solid figure whose bases or ends have the same size and shape and are parallel to one another, and each of whose sides is a parallelogram. 2. A transparent body of this form, often of glass and usually with triangular ends, used for separating white light passed through it into a spectrum or for reflecting beams of light. 3. A cut-glass object, such as a pendant of a chandelier. 4. A crystal form consisting of three or more similar faces parallel to a single axis. 5. A medium that misrepresents whatever is seen through it.2 A n o t h e r d e f i n i t i o n s i m i l a r t o t h e l a s t i s a me d i u m t ha t di s t o r t s, s l a n t s, o r c o l o r s w h a t e v e r i s v i e w e d t h r o u g h i t . 3 T h i s s e n s e o f t h e w o r d i s u s e d v e r y o f t e n i n p o li t i ca l , re l i g i ou s , a n d p h i l os o p hi c a l d i s c u s si o n s t o c o n v e y t h e n o t i o n t h a t i de o l o g y a n d p r e c o n ce i v e d i de a s c a n a ct a s a p r i s m t ha t c o l o r s ou r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of o t h e r i d e a s a n d f a c t s. T h e s e e i n g h e r e i s me t a p h o r i c a l, o f c o u rs e , f o r a p e r s o n w i t h 2 0 / 2 0 v i s i o n w o u l d b e n o m o r e o r l e s s p r o n e t o s uc h a b i a s a s w o u l d a b l i n d o n e . TH EMES : A s n o t e d a b o v e , t h e k e y w o r d p ri s m de s c e n d s f r o m G r e e k a n d L a t i n w o r d s t h a t me a n t o s a w a n d on c e m e a n t a t yp e of s o l i d f i g u r e .
1 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=prism 2 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/prism 3 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prism
4 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 74 5 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/insight