Did You Know: The Word “Lens” Came from the Word “Lentil”

Here’s an interesting piece of photographic and optical trivia: did you know that the word “lens” came from the Latin name of the lentil plant? The scientific name of the lentil we most commonly eat is Lens culinaris. It was named after the legume because double-convex lenses look just like lentils!

Image credit: Photograph by Justinc