The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Telescope \Tel"e*scope\, n. [Gr. ? viewing afar, farseeing; ?
   far, far off + ? a watcher, akin to ? to view: cf. F.
   t['e]lescope. See Telegraph, and -scope.]
   An optical instrument used in viewing distant objects, as the
   heavenly bodies.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: A telescope assists the eye chiefly in two ways; first,
         by enlarging the visual angle under which a distant
         object is seen, and thus magnifying that object; and,
         secondly, by collecting, and conveying to the eye, a
         larger beam of light than would enter the naked organ,
         thus rendering objects distinct and visible which would
         otherwise be indistinct and or invisible. Its essential
         parts are the object glass, or concave mirror, which
         collects the beam of light, and forms an image of the
         object, and the eyeglass, which is a microscope, by
         which the image is magnified.
         [1913 Webster]

   Achromatic telescope. See under Achromatic.

   Aplanatic telescope, a telescope having an aplanatic
      eyepiece.

   Astronomical telescope, a telescope which has a simple
      eyepiece so constructed or used as not to reverse the
      image formed by the object glass, and consequently
      exhibits objects inverted, which is not a hindrance in
      astronomical observations.

   Cassegrainian telescope, a reflecting telescope invented by
      Cassegrain, which differs from the Gregorian only in
      having the secondary speculum convex instead of concave,
      and placed nearer the large speculum. The Cassegrainian
      represents objects inverted; the Gregorian, in their
      natural position. The Melbourne telescope (see Illust.
      under Reflecting telescope, below) is a Cassegrainian
      telescope.

   Dialytic telescope. See under Dialytic.

   Equatorial telescope. See the Note under Equatorial.

   Galilean telescope, a refracting telescope in which the
      eyeglass is a concave instead of a convex lens, as in the
      common opera glass. This was the construction originally
      adopted by Galileo, the inventor of the instrument. It
      exhibits the objects erect, that is, in their natural
      positions.

   Gregorian telescope, a form of reflecting telescope. See
      under Gregorian.

   Herschelian telescope, a reflecting telescope of the form
      invented by Sir William Herschel, in which only one
      speculum is employed, by means of which an image of the
      object is formed near one side of the open end of the
      tube, and to this the eyeglass is applied directly.

   Newtonian telescope, a form of reflecting telescope. See
      under Newtonian.

   Photographic telescope, a telescope specially constructed
      to make photographs of the heavenly bodies.

   Prism telescope. See Teinoscope.

   Reflecting telescope, a telescope in which the image is
      formed by a speculum or mirror (or usually by two
      speculums, a large one at the lower end of the telescope,
      and the smaller one near the open end) instead of an
      object glass. See Gregorian, Cassegrainian, Herschelian,
      & Newtonian, telescopes, above.

   Refracting telescope, a telescope in which the image is
      formed by refraction through an object glass.

   Telescope carp (Zool.), the telescope fish.

   Telescope fish (Zool.), a monstrous variety of the goldfish
      having very protuberant eyes.

   Telescope fly (Zool.), any two-winged fly of the genus
      Diopsis, native of Africa and Asia. The telescope flies
      are remarkable for having the eyes raised on very long
      stalks.

   Telescope shell (Zool.), an elongated gastropod (Cerithium
      telescopium) having numerous flattened whorls.

   Telescope sight (Firearms), a slender telescope attached to
      the barrel, having cross wires in the eyepiece and used as
      a sight.

   Terrestrial telescope, a telescope whose eyepiece has one
      or two lenses more than the astronomical, for the purpose
      of inverting the image, and exhibiting objects erect.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Telescope \Tel"e*scope\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Telescoped; p.
   pr. & vb. n. Telescoping.]
   To slide or pass one within another, after the manner of the
   sections of a small telescope or spyglass; to come into
   collision, as railway cars, in such a manner that one runs
   into another; to become compressed in the manner of a
   telescope, due to a collision or other force. [Recent]
   [1913 Webster +PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Telescope \Tel"e*scope\, v. t.
   1. To cause to come into collision, so as to telescope.
      [Recent]
      [1913 Webster]

   2. to shorten or abridge significantly; as, to telescope a
      whole semester's lectures into one week.
      [PJC]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Telescope \Tel"e*scope\ (t[e^]l"[-e]*sk[=o]p), a.
   Capable of being extended or compacted, like a telescope, by
   the sliding of joints or parts one within the other;
   telescopic; as, a telescope bag; telescope table, etc.; --
   now more commonly replaced by the term telescoping.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Telescoping \Tel"e*scop`ing\ (t[e^]l"[-e]*sk[=o]p`[i^]ng), a.
   Capable of being extended or compacted, like a telescope, by
   the sliding of sections or parts one within the other;
   telescopic; as, telescoping tripod legs; a telescoping table,
   etc.; -- a term replacing the formerly used telescope.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

telescope
    n 1: a magnifier of images of distant objects [syn: telescope,
         scope]
    v 1: crush together or collapse; "In the accident, the cars
         telescoped"; "my hiking sticks telescope and can be put
         into the backpack"
    2: make smaller or shorter; "the novel was telescoped into a
       short play"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

79 Moby Thesaurus words for "telescope":
   Cassegrainian telescope, Newtonian telescope, OAO, OSO, abbreviate,
   abridge, abstract, astronomical observatory,
   astronomical telescope, binoculars, bob, boil down, capsulize,
   clip, coelostat, compress, concertina, condense, contract,
   coronagraph, coronograph, crop, crush, curtail, cut, cut back,
   cut down, cut off short, cut short, digest, dock, elide, epitomize,
   field glass, foreshorten, glass, heliostat, mow, nip, observatory,
   opera glasses, orrery, planetarium, poll, pollard, precis, prune,
   radar telescope, radio observatory, radio telescope, reap, recap,
   recapitulate, reduce, reflector, refractor, retrench, scope, shave,
   shear, shorten, snub, spectrograph, spectroheliograph,
   spectrohelioscope, spectroscope, spy glass, spyglass, squash,
   stunt, sum up, summarize, synopsize, take in,
   terrestrial telescope, trim, truncate, zenith tube,
   zoom binoculars



The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

TELESCOPE, n.  A device having a relation to the eye similar to that
of the telephone to the ear, enabling distant objects to plague us
with a multitude of needless details.  Luckily it is unprovided with a
bell summoning us to the sacrifice.