Videocamera

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A machine intended for recording visual content in motion, which typically includes sound capture functions, merging the roles of photographic equipment and video recording devices
2. An instrument designed for capturing and storing moving visuals, often including audio, that unifies the functionalities of still and video recording tools
3. A device made for the purpose of recording motion pictures along with sound, integrating capabilities of both traditional photography and videography

Etymology: "Videocamera" is a plain compound: "video" joined to "camera," with no hidden story behind the join. The first part comes from Latin "videre," "to see," through "video," "I see," which English took in the 20th century as a combining form for anything involving moving pictures and sound. The second part traces further back than most readers would expect. "Camera" is borrowed from Latin "camera," meaning "vault" or "chamber," which in turn came from Ancient Greek "kamara," a vaulted or arched room. The earliest image-making devices were literally rooms: the camera obscura, or "dark chamber," admitted light through a small hole so an outside scene appeared upside down on the far wall. Joined together, the two parts describe a device that combines the moving-image capacity of video with the chamber-based image capture of the camera. The compound follows the same pattern as words like "videotape" and "videophone," in which "video" marks the moving-picture function attached to an older base word.

Synonyms: camcorder, video recorder, camera, video camera