Image

(im'āj) [L. imago, from imitor, to imitate.] (Opt.) The appearance or picture of an object, formed either by reflection or refraction. A virtual 1. is one which is not formed by the actual union of rays in a focus, and cannot be received upon a screen; a real or positive 1. is one formed in the focus of a mirror or lens, and can be received on a screen. An 1. seen in a looking-gla or in a convex mirror is a virtual I., whilst the 1. formed in the focus of a concave mirror or a convex lens is a real 1. See MIRROR, LENS, FOCUS.-(Rhet.) A description of anything conveyed by a vivid series of metaphorical ideas, falling short, however, of allegorical ones. (Eccl.) An artificial representation of some person or thing, used either by way of decoration or ornament, or as an object of religious worship and veneration. [s. 478]