Refractive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the alteration of light's trajectory when transitioning between various materials
2. Associated with the property of light altering its course due to different media interactions
3. Pertaining to the property that causes light to change direction as it passes through materials of varying densities

Etymology: "Refractive" is a straightforward formation: the adjective is built from "refract" plus the suffix "-ive," meaning "having the quality of or tending to." The verb "refract" itself comes from Latin "refractus," the past participle of "refringere," meaning "to break up or break open," from "re-" (back, again) and "frangere" (to break). Light bending at a boundary was thus named for the sense of being broken or fractured. The suffix has a longer trail. It descends from a Proto-Indo-European root with the sense of "to do, to make," passed into Latin as "-īvus," which entered Old French as "-if" and then Middle English as "-yf." English later settled on the spelling "-ive," the form seen in words like "active" and "creative."

Synonyms: bending, deflective, reflective, dispersive