Glasses Part Labeling – Printable Worksheet With a Key

All 10 parts on the diagram

Show the list

From the front 6

Lens The frame holds one lens in front of each eye.
Rim (eyewire) Opticians call it the eyewire. A rimless front has none.
Bridge Bridge size is the distance between the two lenses. It is part of a frame size.
Nose pad A frame has two. They can be fixed to the frame or adjustable.
Guard arm Also called a pad arm. An optician bends it to set where the pad sits.
End piece It reaches back from the rim to the hinge.

From the side 4

Frame front A frame is a front and two temples.
Hinge Its barrels are held together by a small screw.
Temple Many people call the temples the arms. A frame has two.
Temple tip On a metal frame it is a plastic sleeve.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, text only, Glasses, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasses (eye wires or rims, bridge, nose pads, pad arms, temples, temple tips, end pieces, hinges); United States Air Force School of Health Care Sciences, Optometry Specialist course (1984), ERIC ED265401, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152963_0206 (a front and two temples; eyewire, bridge, nose pads, guard arms, end-pieces, hinges, hinge barrel and screw, temple butt, bend and tip; how a frame size is written); and C. W. Brooks and I. M. Borish, System for Ophthalmic Dispensing, read through the full-text search of https://archive.org/details/systemforophthal00broo (frame front, eyewire or rim, bridge, endpiece, nose pads, guard arms, hinge, temple, temple tip). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's frame, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

For glasses part labeling, write a name on the line for each number. Numbers 1 to 6 are on a metal frame seen from the front. Numbers 7 to 10 are on the same pair seen from the side.

Read the full guide

Glasses parts word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: bridge, end piece, frame front, guard arm, hinge, lens, nose pad, rim, temple, temple tip.

The numbers that get swapped

Three sit close together between the lenses: 3 is the arch that joins the two rims, 4 a small oval pad and 5 the bent wire that holds it. At an outer corner, 6 is the block on the front; from the side, 8 is the joint just behind it. Number 9 is the long bar, and 10 the cover over its far end, where it curves down. Number 7 is everything in front of the face, seen edge-on.

When marking, nosepiece is right on line 4, pad arm on line 5, endpiece on line 6 and arm or earpiece on line 9.
The temple on the sheet bends down behind the ear, which makes it a skull temple. A library temple is generally straight.
The nose pad and its wire show again in the side view, without a number.

Questions and answers

When were glasses invented?

The first glasses are thought to have been made in central Italy, most likely in Pisa or Florence, by about 1290. They had no temples: early pairs were held in the hand or pressed onto the nose.

When did glasses get arms?

The modern style, held on by temples that pass over the ears, was developed some time before 1727, centuries after the first glasses. On the worksheet a temple is number 9 and its tip is number 10.

What is the difference between glasses and spectacles?

None. Glasses are also known as eyeglasses and spectacles, or specs for short. The ten names on the worksheet are the same whichever word a class uses.

What are glasses frames made of?

Plastic, metal and wire are all used. Modern frames are often made of strong, lightweight materials such as titanium alloys, and some of memory metal alloys that return to their shape after being bent.

What is a spring hinge on glasses?

A hinge with a small spring in it. The spring lets a temple open wider than the usual right angle to the front. On the worksheet it is still a hinge, number 8.