Optics has also given us the expressions in focus and out of focus, which can be used both literally and figuratively.įrom these various ideas of clarity and convergence in optics arises one of the more common, everyday ways we use the word focus today: “a central point, as a of attention, activity, or activity.” For example, Finding a cure for cancer was the focus of his long career. The word focus took on a number of senses in optics, specifically “the point on a lens on which rays converge or from which they deviate.” A more familiar sense of focus is “the clear and sharply defined condition of an image,” as when the image isn’t blurry. In physics, a focus is “a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation meet after being refracted or reflected.” Perhaps you can imagine how a fireplace or a hearth-contained areas and sources of heat and light-was likened to such a point in math and science. Other applications of the word focus in the late 1600s came about in the fields of medicine and physics. So did Isaac Newton-you know, of gravity fame-in the 1690s. In the 1650s, the influential English philosopher and author Thomas Hobbes used focus for a kind of fixed point in geometry. As the 1600s unfolded, focus was given new meanings in the great scientific literature of that age, which were largely written in what’s known as New Latin. This is what focus originally meant in English when the word entered the language around 1635–45, though that sense has been extinguished, as it were.īut the word focus burned on in other ways. Well, the word focus comes directly from the Latin focus, which meant “fireplace” or “hearth” (that is, the floor of a fireplace). Or perhaps you recall a teacher tsk-tsking you to pay attention in class. Middle English word purposer comes from the Anglo-French word purpose, meaning “intention” or “suggest,” and from the Latin word proponere, meaning propose.Īfter the death of its leader, the organization lost its purpose.What does the word focus bring to your mind? Maybe you think of a photograph that is clear and sharply defined. He concentrated on remembering anything related to the murder. The origins of concentrate are also from Latin, com + centrum. The word central came to English from Latin, centrum.Ĭentral to all of this was the US’ plan to stop the spread of communism. Synonyms of Focus - Exploring Words With Similar Meanings Central The eagle focused and dove in on the hare.If you want to pass this exam, you are going to have to focus and stop playing with your phone!.Come on, focus - where did you leave the keys?.The main focus of the seminar was pre-Columbian animal species in the Western Hemisphere.Now that we know the definition let’s look at some examples.

It is possible for the thing to be in focus or out of focus. Focus can describe a fundamental point, such as for attraction, fixation, or exercise. It can also mean concentration or paying close attention. We can also define focus as the capacity to prioritize one’s attention or maintain one’s attention.įInally, focus can refer to an adjustment of an optical instrument or the position of a seen object is required to provide a clean image.

Focus synonym