spectroscope

n. optical instrument for creating and observing a spectra

A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization state. The independent variable is usually the wavelength of the light, normally expressed as some fraction of a meter, but sometimes expressed as some unit directly proportional to the photon energy, such as wavenumber or electron volts, which has a reciprocal relationship to wavelength. A spectrometer is used in spectroscopy for producing spectral lines and measuring their wavelengths and intensities. Spectrometer is a term that is applied to instruments that operate over a very wide range of wavelengths, from gamma rays and X-rays into the far infrared.
See more at Wikipedia.org...

Noun
1. an optical instrument for spectrographic analysis
(synonym) prism spectroscope
(hypernym) optical instrument
(hyponym) mass spectrometer, spectrometer
(part-meronym) collimator

n. spectroscope, optical instrument for creating and observing a spectra

(n.)
An optical instrument for forming and examining spectra (as that of solar light, or those produced by flames in which different substances are volatilized), so as to determine, from the position of the spectral lines, the composition of the substance.