Kaleidoscope

Alternative forms

• caleidoscope

Origin

From Ancient Greek καλός (kalos, "beautiful") + εἶδος (eidos, "shape") (compare -oid) + -scope. Coined 1817, by David Brewster, its inventor.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Figurative sense of “constantly changing pattern” attested 1819 by Lord Byron, who had received a kaleidoscope from his publisher.

Full definition of kaleidoscope

Noun

1. A tube of mirrors containing loose coloured beads etc. that is rotated to produce a succession of symmetrical designs.
2. A constantly changing set of colours, or other things.

Derived terms

• kaleidoscopic

Verb

1. (intransitive) To move in shifting patterns.