Lenticular (was Re: Media Words)

[davemarc]

> From: James Smith <jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM>
>
> Thanks for the URLs!  Now that I see what we're
> talking about, I think these "lenticulars" fall
> clearly in the second definition of lenticular as
> found in my Webster's New Collegiate: "provided with
> or utilizing lenticules", lenticules being minute
> lenses, corrugations or grooves that are used on
> films, screens or other surfaces to refract or focus
> light.
>
I agree that the definition describes such a lenticular, but the
description seems very generic for such a common item.  Wouldn't it be
difficult to picture a common-place lenticular (such as the ones in the
URLs) just by looking up the word in your Webster's New
Collegiate?

I'd think that another definition, specifying the purpose as
something along the lines of "typically used to create the illusion of
movement, transformation, or three-dimensionality" (as opposed to "to
refract or focus light") would be useful.  But I'm not clear about the
criteria for making such an alteration.

d.