camera

See also: Camera, caméra, càmera, câmera, and cameră

English

A camera.
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Etymology

    Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin, from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”), from *kamárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmárati, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”). Doublet of chamber.

    (device): An ellipsis of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    camera (plural cameras or (rare) cameræ or (rare) camerae)

    2. (photography) A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.
      • 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:
        The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. It’s therefore not surprising that most cameras mimic this arrangement.
      • 2024 October 5, Jessie Yeung, “Hong Kong plans to install thousands of surveillance cameras. Critics say it’s more proof the city is moving closer to China”, in CNN‎[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 2 March 2026:
        Glance up while strolling through parts of downtown Hong Kong and, chances are, you’ll notice the glassy black lens of a surveillance camera trained on the city’s crowded streets.
        And that sight will become more common in the coming years, as the city’s police pursue an ambitious campaign to install thousands of cameras to elevate their surveillance capabilities.
    3. (computer graphics, video games) The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.
      • 2003, Tom Meigs, Ultimate game design: building game worlds:
        If you're building a third-person game with enclosed or tight spaces, try to figure out up front what camera problems you will likely encounter. Use this identification process to influence the early building process.
      • 2006, Patrick O'Luanaigh, Game Design Complete:
        I'm talking about the way the camera flies up above the skater when you leap into the air. No one had done it before.
    4. A vaulted room.
    5. A judge's private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera.

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Dutch

    Etymology

    Learned borrowing from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), from Latin camera (“chamber, bedchamber”).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈkaː.mə.raː/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Hyphenation: ca‧me‧ra

    Noun

    camera f (plural camera's, diminutive cameraatje n)

    1. camera

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    French

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    camera

    1. third-person singular simple future of camer

    Interlingua

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈka.me.ra/

    Noun

    camera (plural cameras)

    1. room, chamber

    Italian

    Etymology

    From Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára). Doublet of zambra.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈka.me.ra/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -amera
    • Hyphenation: cà‧me‧ra

    Noun

    camera f (plural camere, diminutive camerétta or camerìna or camerìno m or (literary) camerèlla, augmentative cameróna or cameróne m, pejorative cameràccia, derogatory camerùccia)

    1. room; chamber (all senses)
      Synonyms: stanza, sala
    2. bedroom
    3. assembly, parliament
    4. camera (for taking moving pictures)
      Synonym: telecamera

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    Anagrams

    Ladin

    Etymology

    From Latin camera.

    Noun

    camera f (plural cameres)

    1. chamber, room

    Latin

    Etymology 1

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em-der.
    Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmáratider.
    Proto-Iranian *kamarāder.
    Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára)bor.
    Latin camera

      Borrowed from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”).

      Alternative forms

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      camera f (genitive camerae); first declension

      1. A chamber in its various senses, including:
        1. A room, especially a vaulted room, a vault.
        2. A deliberative body.
      Declension

      First-declension noun.

      singular plural
      nominative camera camerae
      genitive camerae camerārum
      dative camerae camerīs
      accusative cameram camerās
      ablative camerā camerīs
      vocative camera camerae
      Derived terms
      Descendants

      Many forms are from the variant camara.

      Borrowings

      References

      Etymology 2

        See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

        Pronunciation

        Verb

        camerā

        1. second-person singular present active imperative of camerō

        Limburgish

        Etymology

        (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈkaː²məʀa/

        Noun

        camera m (plural camera's, diminutive camerake)

        1. (photography) camera

        Derived terms

        • cameramaan (“cameraman”)

        References

        • “camera”, in D'n Dictionair‎[2] (overall work in English, Dutch, and Limburgish), Limburgish Academy, 2007-present

        Romanian

        Noun

        camera f

        1. definite nominative/accusative singular of cameră

        Spanish

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /kaˈmeɾa/ [kaˈme.ɾa]
        • Rhymes: -eɾa
        • Syllabification: ca‧me‧ra

        Noun

        camera f (plural cameras)

        1. female equivalent of camero

        Adjective

        camera f

        1. feminine singular of camero

        Welsh

        Etymology

        Borrowed from English camera, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára), of Old Iranian origin.

        Noun

        camera m (plural camerâu)

        1. camera

        Mutation

        Mutated forms of camera
        radical soft nasal aspirate
        camera gamera nghamera chamera

        Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
        All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

        Further reading

        • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “camera”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
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