Glossary of Glasses Loving Lingo!
| AR (coating) | A coating that can be put on lenses so that they do not reflect as much light. |
| Astigmatism | The need to have a different correction in the lens for vertical and horizontal vision. May occur at any angle and, thus a rotation axis is listed in the prescription. |
| Bambi | Someone wearing Positive lenses which makes their eyes look big. (Reference to the deer eyes as seen in the cartoon by the same name.) |
| Bare Eyed | Not wearing your glasses. Usually refers to someone who is very nearsighted stumbling, or trying to cope without wearing glasses. |
| Base Curve | The curvature of the outside of the lens. Measured in equivalent diopters as if the lens were to have a flat back. Standard lenses usually have a base curve of +2.00 High index lenses usually have a far lower number. Never a negative number with the exception of Bi-concave lenses. See lens. |
| Bi-Concave | A lens that curves inward on both sides. May be worn by very nearsighted people, it produces a very off reflection. |
| Bifocal | Having two powers in separate areas on the same lens. Usually a more positive correction toward the bottom of the lens. This second value is sometimes listed as a "push" |
| Bridge | The center part of a pair of eyeglass frames that bridges the nose. |
| CR39 | A type of plastic with a very low index, usually requiring great thickness to achieve a given correction. |
| CYL | Cylinder correction. See Astigmatism. This is an axis curve that is ground into the lens. |
| GOC | Glasses Over Contacts. Often the user will wear Positive contact lenses so he can wear Negative glasses (Myopic) or experience the perception of being nearsighted. |
| Come-Hither | Someone wearing Negative lenses which make their eyes seam smaller, or giving them a "Come-Hither" look. |
| Concave | Lenses that are thinner in the middle causing objects to look smaller, or further away. This type of lens is used to correct nearsightedness. |
| Convex | Lenses that are thicker in the middle causing objects to look larger. Example, magnifying glass. This type of lens is used to correct farsightedness. |
| Cut-in | The effect of seeing the edge of one's face appear closer to the nose as viewed by the observer when looking at the subject's eyes while they are wearing their glasses. (Relates to negative lenses.) |
| Drop-Temples | 80's style frames where the Temple pieces drop down and connect near the bottoms of the lenses |
| Diopter | The measurement of the power of a lens. May be positive or negative and is usually expressed in three digits such as +4.00 or -3.75. See lens. |
| Glass | Original material used to make lenses. (Thus the term "Glasses") Not used much anymore due to weight, but still considered to have the highest clarity. |
| GWG | Girl (s) With Glasses |
| GyWG | Guy (s) With Glasses |
| High Index | A type of lens plastic that excels at bending light, allowing the lenses to be made thinner. High Index lenses often are flatter on the front surface as they have less of a "base curve." |
| Hyperopia | Farsighted. Needing correction to see at near distances. |
| Lens | May be made of glass, or a variety of plastics. The front and the back are ground differently to produce a power, measured in diopters. A front grind of +2.00 and a back grind of -6.00 would produce a lens with a power of -4.00 diopters. |
| Lens-Pop | Having a lens shoot out of your glasses, usually at a very inopportune time! |
| Lensometer | An instrument used to measure the power of an existing lens. |
| Myodisk | A type of very powerful negative lens that has a distinctive look due to the dome ground out of the wearer's side of the lens. |
| Myopia | Nearsighted. Can view objects up close, but requires glasses for distance vision. |
| Negative | A concave lens used to correct nearsightedness. |
| OO | Optically Obsessed |
| Plano | A lens with a flat surface. Sometime thought of as a lens with no power, but very strong lenses may have a flat, or Plano front. |
| Positive Correction | Usually farsighted, the lenses are convex, or thicker in the middle. The correction would reflect positive numbers such as +4.00 / +4.00 |
| Power Rings | The concentric reflections seen in a concave lens near the edges. Usually more visible in stronger lenses. |
| Presbeopia | Loss of range of focus usually cause by the normal aging process. |
| Progressive | A bifocal or trifocal lens that has no lines due to the fact that the lens "progresses" in power from the top to the bottom. |
| Rx | A lens prescription. |
| Temple | Usually refers to the side hinged segments of a pair of glasses. |
| Trifocal | Having three powers in separate areas on the same lens. Usually a more positive correction toward the bottom of the lens. This second and third value are sometimes listed as the "push" |
| Window Glass | Usually refers to flat lenses with no power as used by actors or actresses in a movie role that are faking wearing glasses. |
| Wurm | A creature known to inhabit and own a site known as Eye Scene. Also known by the name Chris 8) |