Other forms: scopes
Scope is how far something reaches — everything it covers, and where it stops. The scope of an investigation, of a job, of a new law: what falls inside the line and what does not.
It travels with OF, and with WITHIN or BEYOND: within the scope of this report, beyond the scope of the course. Scope FOR something is a different animal — it means room to do more: 'there is scope for improvement', 'not much scope for negotiation'. In logic and grammar, the scope of a word is how far its effect stretches across a sentence, which is why moving 'only' or 'not' changes the meaning. On its own a scope is an instrument for looking: a rifle scope, and short for telescope or microscope. Scope out is informal American for going to look at something in advance.
1nounscopeThe full extent of what something covers or deals with.~82%
“Repairs to the roof fall outside the scope of the contract.”
2nounroomRoom or opportunity to do something.~14%
“There is scope for a much simpler design.”
3nounlogicIn logic and grammar: how far the effect of a word or a claim extends.~2%
“Move the word 'only' and you change the scope of the whole sentence.”
4noundeviceA device for looking closely at something: a telescope, a microscope, or a sight on a rifle.~2%
“He fitted a scope to the rifle and lay down in the grass.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 9 sentences found in the wild and placed 7 of them on a sense (2 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
Also accepted in games: range, extent
Scope came from Italian scopo, a purpose, from Latin scopus, a target, and behind that Ancient Greek skopos, from a verb meaning to look at or consider. The same Indo-European root for looking gives English skeptic and spectrum. A target is the thing you fix your eyes on — and scope still asks where you are aiming and how far that reach goes.
Proto-Indo-European
*speḱ-
Italian
scopo — purpose
English, today
scope
From Italian scopo (“purpose”). From Italian scopo (“purpose”), from Latin scopus (“target”), from Ancient Greek σκοπός, from σκέπτομαι, from Proto-Indo-European speḱ-. Etymologically related to skeptic and spectrum.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA