CultureAugust 16, 2026

aperture

AP-er-cher

Definition

The adjustable opening in a camera lens that controls the amount of light passing through to the film or sensor.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin word 'apertura,' meaning 'an opening' or 'a hole,' which is the past participle of 'aperire,' meaning 'to uncover' or 'to open.'

In the news

The article describes how photographers manually adjusted the aperture on the Plaubel Makina 67 to achieve the correct light exposure, demonstrating the camera's hands-on professional nature.

Film photographers are still obsessed with the Plaubel Makina 67 – this medium-format camera is worth far more today than when it was new

Read the full article ↗

Digital Camera World

Related words

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.