noun
an optical instrument for making distant objects, as the stars, appear nearer and consequently larger: it consists of two or more lenses or mirrors
Origin:
It telescopio (coined by Galileo, 1611) < ModL telescopium < Gr tēleskopos, seeing from a distance: see tele- & -scope
adjective
having parts that slide one inside another
intransitive verb telescoped, telescoping
to slide or be forced one into another like the concentric tubes of a small, collapsible telescope