viewfinder
Meaning
a small window on a camera that you look through to see what will be in the photograph or picture
Structure
Usage
She raised the camera and looked through the viewfinder to compose the shot.
The digital viewfinder on this mirrorless camera shows a real-time preview.
He adjusted the diopter on the viewfinder to match his eyesight.
Etymology
The word 'viewfinder' is a transparent compound from the 19th century, created to name a new technological component of the camera. It logically combines 'view', relating to the act of seeing the scene, with 'find', indicating the device's function of locating and framing that scene. The agent suffix '-er' is attached to the verb 'find', creating a noun for the object that performs the action of 'finding the view'. Thus, the term's literal meaning, "a thing that finds the view," perfectly and directly describes its practical role in photography.
Analysis
- view (from Old French veue 'sight', from Latin vidēre 'to see') - find (from Old English findan 'to come upon, discover') - er (from Old English -ere, agent noun suffix indicating a person or thing that performs an action)