- photography
- 1839, from photo- + -graphy.
- photograph (n.)
- 1839, "picture obtained by photography," coined by Sir John Herschel from photo- + -graph "instrument for recording." It won out over other suggestions, such as photogene and heliograph. Neo-Anglo-Saxonists prefer sunprint. The verb and photography are all first found in a paper read before the Royal Society on March 14, 1839.
- developer
- 1833, "one who develops," agent noun from develop. Photography use attested from 1869; meaning "speculative builder" is from 1938.
- Schmidt
- type of astronomical telescope lens used for photography, 1939, from Estonian-born Ger. optician Bernhard Voldemar Schmidt (1879-1935), who invented it.
- periscope
- 1899, formed in Eng. from peri- "around" + -scope "instrument for viewing." Earlier (1865) a technical term in photography.
- underdeveloped
- 1892, in the photography sense, under + pp. of develop. In ref. to countries or regions, recorded from 1949.
- over-expose
- 1869, in photography, from over + expose (q.v.). Figurative sense, in ref. to celebrity, first attested 1969 (implied in overexposure).
- Kodak
- brand of camera, arbitrary coinage by U.S. inventor George Eastman (1854-1932), U.S. trademark registered Sept. 4, 1888. In 1890s, practically synonymous with camera. Kodachrome, registered trademark for a method of color photography, 1915.
- sensitize
- 1856, in photography; see sensitive + -ize. Of persons from 1880. Related: Sensitized; sensitizing.
- desensitize
- 1904; see de- "do the opposite of" + sensitize (see sensitive). Originally of photography development; psychological sense is first recorded 1935. Related: Desensitized; desensitizing.
- photogenic
- 1839, "produced or caused by light," from photo- + -genic "produced by" (see genus). Originally in photogenic drawing, the early term for "photography;" meaning "photographing well" is first attested 1928.
- Xerox
- 1952, trademark taken out by Haloid Co. of Rochester, N.Y., for a copying device, from earlier xerography "photographic reduplication without liquid developers" (1948), from Gk. xeros "dry" (see xerasia) + -ography as in photography. The verb is first attested 1965, from the noun, despite strenuous objection from the Xerox copyright department.
- tin
- O.E. tin, from P.Gmc. *tinom (cf. M.Du., Du. tin, O.H.G. zin, Ger. Zinn, O.N. tin), of unknown origin, not found outside Germanic. Tin-type in photography is from 1864. Tin ear "lack of musical discernment" is from 1909. Tin Lizzie "early Ford, especially a Model T," first recorded 1915.
- candid
- 1620s, "white," from L. candidum "white; pure; sincere, honest, upright," from candere "to shine," from PIE base *kand- "to glow, to shine" (see candle). In English, metaphoric extension to "frank" first recorded 1670s (cf. Fr. candide "open, frank, ingenuous, sincere"). Of photography, 1929. Related: Candidly.
- close (adj.)
- late 14c., "strictly confined," also "secret," from O.Fr. clos "confined; concealed, secret; taciturn" (12c.), from L. clausus, pp. of claudere "stop up, fasten, shut" (see close (v.)); main sense shifting to "near" (late 15c.) by way of "closing the gap between two things." Related: Closely. Close call is 1881; close shave is 1834. Close-up (n.) in photography, etc., is from 1913. Close-minded is attested from 1818.
- camera
- 1708, "vaulted building," from L. camera "vaulted room" (cf. It. camera, Sp. camara, Fr. chambre), from Gk. kamara "vaulted chamber," from PIE base *kam- "to arch." The word also was used early 18c. as a short form of Mod.L. camera obscura "dark chamber" (a black box with a lens that could project images of external objects), contrasted with camera lucida (Latin for "light chamber"), which uses prisms to produce an image on paper beneath the instrument, which can be traced. It became the word for "picture-taking device" when modern photography began, c.1840 (extended to television filming devices 1928). Camera-shy is attested from 1890. O.C.S. komora, Lith. kamara, O.Ir. camra all are borrowings from Latin.
- print (n.)
- c.1300, "impression, mark," from O.Fr. preinte "impression," prop. fem. pp. of preindre "to press," from L. premere (see press (v.1)). Sense of "picture or design from a block or plate" is first attested 1660s. Meaning "piece of printed cloth" is from 1756. Out of print "no longer to be had from the publisher" is from 1670s. The verb is attested from mid-14c., "to impress with a seal, stamp, or die;" Meaning "to set a mark on any surface (including by writing)" is attested from c.1400. Meaning "to run off on a press" is recorded from 1510s (Caxton, 1474, used enprynte in this sense). Related: Printed; printing. In reference to textiles, 1580s. The verb in the photography sense is recorded from 1851 (the noun from 1853). Meaning "to write in imitation of typography" is first attested 1837 in "Pickwick Papers":
He always prints, I know, 'cos he learnt writin' from the large bills in the bookin' offices.
The meaning "to record (someone's) fingerprints" is from 1952. Printing press is from 1580s.