Learn Greek › B2 › φακός
φακός
lens /faˈkos/
nounB2#2353 most common
Also: flashlight/torch, lentil (older sense), mole (skin spot)
Example sentences
Ο φακός είναι στο τραπέζι.
The flashlight is on the table.
Χρειάζομαι έναν φακό για να διαβάσω στο σκοτάδι.
I need a flashlight to read in the dark.
Ο φωτογράφος άλλαξε τον φακό της μηχανής του.
The photographer changed his camera's lens.
Φοράω φακούς επαφής αντί για γυαλιά.
I wear contact lenses instead of glasses.
Ο γιατρός εξέτασε τον φακό του ματιού μου.
The doctor examined the lens of my eye.
Χωρίς φακό, δεν θα μπορούσαμε να δούμε τίποτα μέσα στη σπηλιά.
Without a flashlight, we would not have been able to see anything inside the cave.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ο φακός | οι φακοί |
| Genitive | του φακού | των φακών |
| Accusative | τον φακό | τους φακούς |
| Vocative | φακέ | φακοί |
Word family
φακήlentil (food)
φακίδαfreckle, small mole
φωτογραφικός φακόςcamera lens
φακός τσέπηςpocket flashlight
φακοί επαφήςcontact lenses
Etymology
The word goes back to Ancient Greek φακός, meaning lentil. Because a simple optical lens has the flattened, curved shape of a lentil seed, Greek extended the word to cover glass lenses, and later camera lenses and flashlights. The same logic produced the English word lens, which comes from Latin lens, also meaning lentil, though the Greek and Latin words are not directly related to each other.
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