Which country were the first known practical telescopes invented ?
The word "" telescope "" ( from the Greek τῆλε , " tele " " far " and σκοπεῖν , " skopein " " to look or see " ; τηλεσκόπος , " teleskopos " " far - seeing " ) was coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei 's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei .