Look up monocle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens placed in front of the eye and held in place by the eye socket itself. Often, to avoid losing the monocle, a string or wire is connected to the wearer's clothing at one end and, at the other end, to either a hole in the lens or, more often, a wire ring around its circumference.
Originsedit
The Prussian antiquarianPhilipp von Stosch wore a monocle in Rome in the 1720s, in order to closely examine engravings and antique engraved gems, but the monocle did not become an article of gentlemen's apparel until the 19th century. The dandy's quizzing glass of the 1790s was an article of high fashion,[1] which differs from the monocle in being held to one's eye with a handle in a fashion similar to a lorgnette, rather than being held in place by the eye socket itself.
Stylesedit
There are three additional styles of the monocle. The first style consists of a simple loop of metal with a lens that was slotted into the eye orbit. These were the first monocles worn in England and could be found from the 1830s onwards. The second style, which was developed in the 1890s, was the most elaborate, consisting of a frame with a raised edge-like extension known as the gallery.[2] The gallery was designed to help secure the monocle in place by raising it out of the eye's orbit slightly so that the eyelashes would not jar it. Monocles with galleries were often the most expensive. The wealthy would have the frames custom-made to fit their eye sockets. A sub-category of the galleried monocle was the "sprung gallery", where the gallery was replaced by an incomplete circle of flattened, ridged wire supported by three posts. The ends were pulled together, the monocle was placed in the eye orbit, and the ends were released, causing the gallery to spring out and keep the monocle in place.
The third style of monocle was frameless. This consisted of a cut piece of glass, with a serrated edge to provide a grip and sometimes a hole drilled into one side for a cord. Often the frameless monocle had no cord and would be worn freely. This style was popular at the beginning of the 20th century as the lens could be cut to fit any shape eye orbit inexpensively, without the cost of a customized frame.
Wearing a monocle is generally not uncomfortable.[citation needed] If customized, monocles could be worn securely with little effort. However, periodic adjustment is common for monocle wearers to keep the monocle from popping, as can be seen in films featuring Erich von Stroheim. Often only the rich could afford to have a monocle custom-fabricated, while the poor had to settle for ill-fitting monocles that were less comfortable and less secure. The popular perception was (and still is) that a monocle could easily fall off with the wrong facial expression. This is true to an extent, for example raising the eyebrow too far will allow the monocle to fall.
A once-standard comedic device exploits this: an upper-class gentleman affects a shocked expression in response to some event, and his monocle falls into his drink or smashes to pieces on the floor, etc.
Monocles were most prevalent in the late 19th century, but are rarely worn today. This is due in large part to advances in optometry which allow for better measurement of refractive error, so that glasses and contact lenses can be prescribed with different strengths in each eye.
The New Yorker mascot Eustace Tilley, an early 19th-century dandy, is depicted using a monocle like a quizzing glass.
A monocle is also a distinctive part of the costume of at least three Gilbert & Sullivan characters: Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance; Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore; Reginald Bunthorne in Patience; Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe; and Composer Sullivan. In some variant productions, numerous other characters wear the distinctive eyewear, and some noted performers of the "G&S" repertoire also have worn a monocle such as Martyn Green.
Captain Good, a character in the book King Solomon's Mines, wore a monocle. Remote natives thought it was part of his eye, giving credence to his claim that he was a god.