Bespectacled

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /bɪˈspɛktəkəld/

Definitions

1. Wearing eyeglasses or spectacles, especially in a manner that is noticeable or characteristic
2. wearing eyeglasses as a distinguishing or notable feature
3. having spectacles on one's face in a conspicuous way

Etymology: "Bespectacled" is a plain English formation: the prefix "be-" added to "spectacle," with the "-ed" ending that turns it into an adjective describing someone who has spectacles on. The prefix "be-" is an old English device for adding a sense of "covered with" or "furnished with," as in "bejewelled" or "besmeared," and it is attached here to the noun "spectacle" to mean "fitted with spectacles." "Spectacle" itself comes from Latin "spectaculum," meaning a sight or public show, from the verb "spectare," "to look at." Its early sense was therefore the thing seen, and only later did it come to name the frames worn on the face. The eyeglass sense of "spectacle" is what makes the adjective work, since the spectacles are the visible feature that gives the word its meaning.

Synonyms: glasses-wearing, spectacled

Antonyms: unspectacled