Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Kali Yuga
kalif
Kalimantan
kalimba
kalinda
Kalinin
Kaliningrad
kalkoentjie
kallikrein
Kalmar
kalmia
Kalmyck
kalpa
kama
Kama Sutra
kamaaina
kamacite
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
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
MSN Shopping
Upgrade your Encarta experience
Encarta RSS Feeds
© 2008 Microsoft