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| pris·m [ prízzəm ] (plural prisms) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. solid for dispersing light: a transparent polygonal solid object with flat faces and a usually triangular cross section, used for separating white light into a spectrum of colors
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2. something made of cut glass: a cut-glass object, especially one that can separate white light into a spectrum
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3. crystallography crystal type: a crystal form with faces that are parallel to a single axis
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4. mathematics parallelogram-sided solid: a three-dimensional geometric figure with ends that are identical polygons and with sides that are parallelograms
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| [Late 16th century. Via late Latin< Greek prisma "something sawn" (because of its shape) < prizein "to saw"] |
