Updated on March 6, 2024
A telescope is a marvelous tool that has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. From Galileo's first observations of the moon to the Hubble Space Telescope's breathtaking images of distant galaxies, telescopes have allowed us to explore the cosmos in ways previously unimaginable. The significance of the telescope extends beyond science, as it has shaped our cultural narrative and inspired countless works of art and literature.
Given its importance, it's no surprise that people around the world have sought to translate the word 'telescope' into their own languages. For example, in Spanish, a telescope is 'telescopio,' while in French, it's 'téléscope.' In German, the word is 'Teleskop,' and in Japanese, it's 'テレスコープ (teresukōpu).'
Understanding the translation of 'telescope' in different languages not only broadens our linguistic skills but also deepens our appreciation for the cultural significance of this remarkable invention. Join us as we explore the many translations of 'telescope' and delve into the rich history and cultural importance of this remarkable tool.
Afrikaans | teleskoop | ||
The word "teleskoop" in Afrikaans comes from the Greek word "tele" (far) and "skopein" (to view). | |||
Amharic | ቴሌስኮፕ | ||
The word ቴሌስኮፕ originates from the Greek word 'tele' (far) and 'skopeein' (to look at), which together mean 'to look far'. | |||
Hausa | madubin hangen nesa | ||
The word 'madubin hangen nesa' literally translates to 'pipe for viewing the moon'. | |||
Igbo | teliskop | ||
In Igbo, "teliskop" can also mean "a long, thin object." | |||
Malagasy | teleskaopy | ||
The word "teleskaopy" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (meaning "far") and "skopeein" (meaning "to look"), and originally referred to any instrument used for viewing distant objects. | |||
Nyanja (Chichewa) | telesikopu | ||
The word 'telesikopu' is derived from the Greek words 'tele' (meaning 'far') and 'skopeein' (meaning 'to view'). | |||
Shona | teresikopu | ||
The Shona word "teresikopu" is derived from the Greek word "τηλεσκόπος" (teleskopos), meaning "far-seeing." | |||
Somali | telescope | ||
The Somali word "telescope" (durbir) originally referred to a type of traditional Arab dhow boat. | |||
Sesotho | sebonela-hōle | ||
A more accurate word for "telescope" might be "sebonela-hōle" (literally "the one that shows the stars"). | |||
Swahili | darubini | ||
The word 'darubini' is derived from the Arabic word 'durbin', which means 'a viewing instrument' and primarily refers to binoculars. | |||
Xhosa | iteleskopu | ||
The word "iteleskopu" is derived from the Greek word "teleskopos" which means "far-seeing". It is also related to the Latin word "specula" which means "watchtower". | |||
Yoruba | imutobi | ||
The word "imutobi" originally meant "to look far" in Yoruba. | |||
Zulu | isibonakude | ||
The word 'isibonakude' is a combination of the Zulu words 'sibona' (we see) and 'ikude' (distance), which accurately describes the purpose of a telescope. | |||
Bambara | teleskɔpi (telescope) ye | ||
Ewe | didiƒekpɔmɔ̃ | ||
Kinyarwanda | telesikope | ||
Lingala | telescope na nzela ya télescope | ||
Luganda | eky’okulaba ewala | ||
Sepedi | thelesekoupu ya thelesekoupu | ||
Twi (Akan) | afiri a wɔde hwɛ akyirikyiri | ||
Arabic | تلسكوب | ||
In Moroccan Arabic, "تلسكوب" can also refer to a type of long, thin candy. | |||
Hebrew | טֵלֶסקוֹפּ | ||
The word "טֵלֶסקוֹפּ" is derived from the Greek words "τηλε" (tele), meaning "far," and "σκοπεῖν" (skopein), meaning "to look" or "to observe." | |||
Pashto | دوربین | ||
The word "دوربین" can also mean "spyglass" or "microscope" in Pashto. | |||
Arabic | تلسكوب | ||
In Moroccan Arabic, "تلسكوب" can also refer to a type of long, thin candy. |
Albanian | teleskopi | ||
Basque | teleskopioa | ||
The word 'teleskopioa' in Basque is a compound word consisting of 'tele' (meaning 'far') and 'ikusi' (meaning 'see'), making it literally translate as 'far-seeing'. | |||
Catalan | telescopi | ||
Telescopi comes from the Greek word “tele” meaning “far” and “skopeein” meaning “to look or see.” | |||
Croatian | teleskop | ||
The root of the word "teleskop" in Croatian, "teloskop", derives from the Greek roots for "far" and "see". | |||
Danish | teleskop | ||
Teleskop in Danish also means a piece of chewing gum, derived from its resemblance to a rolled-up telescope. | |||
Dutch | telescoop | ||
The word 'telescoop' derives from the Greek words 'tele' (far) and 'skopein' (to look or see), meaning 'far-seeing' | |||
English | telescope | ||
The term 'telescope' was coined by Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani and stems from the Greek words 'tele' meaning 'far' and 'skopein' meaning 'to look or see'. | |||
French | télescope | ||
En grec, le mot télescope signifie « voir au loin ». | |||
Frisian | teleskoop | ||
It can also mean 'look into the distance' or 'view at a distance'. | |||
Galician | telescopio | ||
"Telescopio" en gallego comparte raíz etimológica con "telescopio" en español, y también puede significar "anteojos" o "gafas". | |||
German | teleskop | ||
The German word "Teleskop" originally referred to an opera glass. | |||
Icelandic | sjónauka | ||
The word sjónauka is a compound of the Icelandic words "sjón" and "auka", meaning "to see" and "to increase" respectively. | |||
Irish | teileascóp | ||
In Irish Gaelic, the word teileascóp is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopeein" (to look). | |||
Italian | telescopio | ||
In Italian, the word "telescopio" can also refer to a type of small, foldable telescope used for observing animals or distant objects. | |||
Luxembourgish | teleskop | ||
An alternative word for the telescope in Luxembourgish is "Räitzill". The word stems from astronomer and priest Jean-François Reckinger and combines the German word "Reichen" (reaching) and the Latin word "stella" (star). | |||
Maltese | teleskopju | ||
The Maltese word "teleskopju" comes from the Greek word "τηλεσκόπος" (tēleskopos), meaning "far-seeing". | |||
Norwegian | teleskop | ||
In Norwegian, "teleskop" can also refer to a retractable part of a car antenna, a sliding lens on a camera, or a type of artificial leg. | |||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | telescópio | ||
In Brazilian Portuguese, "telescópio" can also mean a kind of stage in a theater. | |||
Scots Gaelic | teileasgop | ||
Teileasgop means 'telescope', from 'teil' meaning 'distant' and 'sgop' meaning 'eye' or 'view'. | |||
Spanish | telescopio | ||
In Spanish, "telescopio" can also refer to a type of magnifying glass used in watchmaking and jewelry. | |||
Swedish | teleskop | ||
The word "teleskop" can also refer to a type of folding opera glass. | |||
Welsh | telesgop | ||
The Welsh word "telesgop" is derived from the Greek "tele" meaning "far" and "skopeein" meaning "to look at". |
Belarusian | тэлескоп | ||
The word "тэлескоп" is derived from the Greek words "τηλε" (meaning "far") and "σκοπος" (meaning "observer"). | |||
Bosnian | teleskop | ||
Bosnian word 'teleskop' is also used to refer to a type of hairstyle where the hair is pulled back tightly and pinned up on top of the head. | |||
Bulgarian | телескоп | ||
В българския език думата „телескоп“ се използва и за обозначаване на устройство за търсене на предмети под вода, като например във водолазен шлем. | |||
Czech | dalekohled | ||
The word "dalekohled" in Czech is derived from the German word "Fernrohr" and means "far-seer". | |||
Estonian | teleskoop | ||
Teleskoop is a loanword from German "Teleskop" and French "télescope", coming from Greek "tele" (far) and "skopeein" (to observe). | |||
Finnish | teleskooppi | ||
The word "teleskooppi" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopeein" (to observe), and also refers to a part of an ear or a type of fish. | |||
Hungarian | távcső | ||
The word "távcső" is composed of two Hungarian words: "táv" and "cső", meaning "distance" and "pipe", respectively. | |||
Latvian | teleskops | ||
The word "teleskops" can also mean "eyeglass" or "lorgnette" in Latvian. | |||
Lithuanian | teleskopas | ||
The word "teleskopas" is derived from two Greek stems: tele ("distant") and skopein ("to observe"). | |||
Macedonian | телескоп | ||
The word "телескоп" (telescope) is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopein" (to look), and its alternate meaning in Macedonian is "spyglass". | |||
Polish | teleskop | ||
The Polish word "teleskop" is derived from the ancient Greek words "tele" meaning "far" and "skopeein" meaning "to look at". | |||
Romanian | telescop | ||
In Romanian, "telescop" can also refer to a type of musical instrument resembling a panpipe. | |||
Russian | телескоп | ||
The word "телескоп" (telescope) in Russian also refers to a device used in theater to magnify the image of a distant object. | |||
Serbian | телескоп | ||
The word "телескоп" ("telescope") in Serbian is a loanword from Greek, derived from "τηλε" ("far") and "σκοπέω" ("to look at"). | |||
Slovak | ďalekohľad | ||
The word "ďalekohľad" in Slovak literally translates to "farsightedness", referring to its ability to magnify distant objects. | |||
Slovenian | teleskop | ||
V slovenščini beseda "teleskop" lahko pomeni tudi "naprava za opazovanje oddaljenih predmetov na morju ali kopnem". | |||
Ukrainian | телескоп | ||
"Телескоп" is a foreign word borrowed from French |
Bengali | দূরবীণ | ||
দূরবীণ is also an optical instrument used in surveying to measure angles. | |||
Gujarati | દૂરબીન | ||
Hindi | दूरबीन | ||
The Hindi word "दूरबीन" is derived from the Sanskrit words "दूर" (meaning "far") and "बीक्ष" (meaning "to see"), hence literally meaning "something to see far with". | |||
Kannada | ದೂರದರ್ಶಕ | ||
The word "ದೂರದರ್ಶಕ" literally means "the one who sees far" in Kannada. | |||
Malayalam | ദൂരദർശിനി | ||
In Malayalam, the word "ദൂരദർശിനി" can also refer to a "spyglass" or an antique "pair of spectacles" used to correct vision, reflecting its broader meanings "device for observing distant objects" or "aids to see clearly". | |||
Marathi | दुर्बिणी | ||
दुर्बिणी also means 'window' in Marathi | |||
Nepali | टेलिस्कोप | ||
The word "टेलिस्कोप" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopeein" (to look), and was first used in the 17th century to describe a device that allowed for the observation of distant objects. | |||
Punjabi | ਦੂਰਬੀਨ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) | දුරේක්ෂය | ||
Tamil | தொலைநோக்கி | ||
The word தொலைநோக்கி can also refer to an imaginary instrument with the ability to see far distances. | |||
Telugu | టెలిస్కోప్ | ||
The word "telescope" is derived from the Greek word "tele" meaning "far" and "skopeein" meaning "to look at". | |||
Urdu | دوربین | ||
دوربین in Urdu means “the eye of the distance” and comes from the Persian “दूर” (dūr) meaning “distant” and “بین” (bīn) meaning “eye”. |
Chinese (Simplified) | 望远镜 | ||
望远镜一词最早在西汉《淮南子》中出现,原指观察远方的仪器,包括指南车等 | |||
Chinese (Traditional) | 望遠鏡 | ||
除了「望遠鏡」,「望遠鏡」在中文中還可以指「觀察遠方的事物」或「有遠見卓識」 | |||
Japanese | 望遠鏡 | ||
The first 望遠鏡 (telescope) was reportedly imported to Japan in 1608. | |||
Korean | 망원경 | ||
The term "망원경" is a Sino-Korean word and its characters literally mean "far" and "view". | |||
Mongolian | дуран | ||
The word "дуран" also means "distant" in Mongolian, reflecting its ability to observe faraway objects. | |||
Myanmar (Burmese) | တယ်လီစကုပ် | ||
The word တယ်လီစကုပ် is derived from the Greek words "tele," meaning "far," and "skopeein," meaning "to look or see." |
Indonesian | teleskop | ||
The word 'teleskop' also means 'peephole' or 'binoculars' in Indonesian. | |||
Javanese | teleskop | ||
The word "teleskop" in Javanese also means "to see something from afar". | |||
Khmer | កែវយឹត | ||
"កែវយឹត" also means "magnifying glass" or "eyeglasses" in Khmer. | |||
Lao | ກ້ອງສ່ອງທາງໄກ | ||
Malay | teleskop | ||
"Teleskop" is derived from the Greek word "tele" (far) and "skopeein" (to look), referring to its ability to observe distant objects. | |||
Thai | กล้องโทรทรรศน์ | ||
The word กล้องโทรทรรศน์ means both "telescope" and "microscope" in Thai. | |||
Vietnamese | kính thiên văn | ||
Kính thiên văn is borrowed from Chinese and literally translates to "instrument to observe space." | |||
Filipino (Tagalog) | teleskopyo | ||
Azerbaijani | teleskop | ||
The word "teleskop" can also refer to a type of musical instrument similar to a clarinet or oboe in Azerbaijani. | |||
Kazakh | телескоп | ||
The Kazakh word "телескоп" (telescope) is an adapted borrowing of the Russian word "телескоп", which in turn comes from the Greek words "τῆλε" (tēle) meaning "far" and "σκοπεῖν" (skopeîn) meaning "to look" or "to examine". | |||
Kyrgyz | телескоп | ||
The word "телескоп" in Kyrgyz can also refer to a type of traditional musical instrument, similar to a tambourine. | |||
Tajik | телескоп | ||
Слово «телескоп» в таджикском языке также может означать «подзорная труба». | |||
Turkmen | teleskop | ||
Uzbek | teleskop | ||
Uyghur | تېلېسكوپ | ||
Hawaiian | teleskopa | ||
It can also refer to a species of Hawaiian land snail. | |||
Maori | waea karu | ||
"Waea karu" can also mean "window" or "frame". | |||
Samoan | teleskope | ||
Teleskope is also used to refer to a person who is farsighted. | |||
Tagalog (Filipino) | teleskopyo | ||
The Tagalog word "teleskopyo" is derived from the Greek word "tele", meaning "far," and "skopio", meaning "to view," hence its meaning as an optical instrument used to view distant objects. |
Aymara | telescopio ukampi | ||
Guarani | telescopio rehegua | ||
Esperanto | teleskopo | ||
"Teleskopo" is derived from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopein" (to view), and can also refer to the organ of vision. | |||
Latin | telescopio | ||
Telescopio comes from the Greek word "tēle" (far) and the Latin word "scopia" (to view). |
Greek | τηλεσκόπιο | ||
Ancient Greek τηλεσκόπιον "a far-viewing instrument" is the noun (or adjective) form related to the verb τηλεσκοπέω."to look from afar," (τηλο- tele- "afar-, far-off" in Ancient Greek, a cognate with the English preposition from Old English "fram" which is cognate with the Greek preposition πρό "forth, further") + -σκοπέω "-scope" " to examine, observe, watch, view " (σκοπος "a mark "). | |||
Hmong | lub tsom iav raj | ||
The word refers to the eye's pupil in its original Mongolian language. | |||
Kurdish | lûla dûrdîtinê | ||
The word 'lûla dûrdîtinê' is derived from the Persian words 'lûleh' (pipe) and 'dûrbin' (far-seeing), meaning 'instrument for distant viewing'. It can also refer to other optical devices like microscopes and binoculars. | |||
Turkish | teleskop | ||
"Teleskop" kelimesi Yunancada "uzağı görmek" anlamına gelen "tele" ve "skopeein" (görmek) sözcüklerinin birleşiminden oluşur. | |||
Xhosa | iteleskopu | ||
The word "iteleskopu" is derived from the Greek word "teleskopos" which means "far-seeing". It is also related to the Latin word "specula" which means "watchtower". | |||
Yiddish | טעלעסקאָפּ | ||
טעלעסקאָפּ derives from the Greek words "tele" (far) and "skopein" (to look). | |||
Zulu | isibonakude | ||
The word 'isibonakude' is a combination of the Zulu words 'sibona' (we see) and 'ikude' (distance), which accurately describes the purpose of a telescope. | |||
Assamese | টেলিস্কোপ | ||
Aymara | telescopio ukampi | ||
Bhojpuri | दूरबीन से देखल जा सकेला | ||
Dhivehi | ޓެލެސްކޯޕެވެ | ||
Dogri | दूरबीन दा | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) | teleskopyo | ||
Guarani | telescopio rehegua | ||
Ilocano | teleskopio | ||
Krio | tɛliskɔp | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) | تەلەسکۆپ | ||
Maithili | दूरबीन | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯦꯂꯤꯁ꯭ꯀꯣꯞ ꯇꯧꯕꯥ꯫ | ||
Mizo | telescope hmanga siam a ni | ||
Oromo | teleskooppii | ||
Odia (Oriya) | ଦୂରବୀକ୍ଷଣ ଯନ୍ତ୍ର | ||
Quechua | telescopio nisqawan | ||
Sanskrit | दूरबीन | ||
Tatar | телескоп | ||
Tigrinya | ቴለስኮፕ | ||
Tsonga | theleskopu | ||