Go to MSN Homeencarta®
HomeEncyclopediaDictionaryAtlasK-12 SuccessCollege & Grad SchoolAdult LearningQuizzesMore
Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Click to move up the list of words
kaiserin
kaiso
kaiten
kaizen
kajal
kak
kaka
kaka beak
Kakadu National Park
kakapo
kakemono
kaki
kakistocracy
kala-azar
kalabule
Kalachakra
Kalahari Desert
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "kaleidos..." in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

kaleidoscope
ka·lei·do·scope [ kə ldə skp ] (plural ka·lei·do·scopes)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. optical toy: an optical toy consisting of a cylinder with mirrors and colored shapes inside that create shifting symmetrical patterns when the end is rotated
2. complex scene or pattern: a complex, colorful, and shifting pattern or scene
3. complex set of events: a complex set of events or circumstances
[Early 19th century. < Greek kalos "beautiful" + eidos "form"]

ka·lei·do·scop·ic [ kə ldə skóppik ] adjective
ka·lei·do·scop·i·cal·ly adverb
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Englishtown: Learn English online
Also on MSN
• Project Earth: Big Ideas for Saving the Planet on the Discovery Channel
• MSN Shopping: Best books for the season
• MSN Careers: Nail that job interview
• Today's news on MSNBC
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Upgrade your Encarta experience
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft