binoculars

Etymology

Abbreviation of "binocular glass".

noun

1. A hand-held device consisting of a series of lenses and prisms, used to magnify objects so that they can be better seen from a distance, and looked at through both eyes.
   He gazed around until on the lid of a spinet he spotted a promising collection of bottles, gin, whiskey, vermouth and sherry, mixed with violin bows, a flute, a toppling pile of books, six volumes of Grove's Dictionary mingled with paperback thrillers, a guitar without any strings, a pair of binoculars, a meerschaum pipe and a jar half-full of wasps and apricot jam. 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 14, in Crime out of Mind