Panorama

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌpæn.əˈɹæm.ə/

Definitions

1. A wide, unbroken view of an extensive area, often seen from a high vantage point ; a thorough and broad presentation or survey of a subject or situation
2. An expansive, sweeping visual of a landscape or cityscape ; an overview that covers all the important aspects of a topic or event
3. A broad and open view that captures a large area at once ; a detailed and inclusive examination or display of information or scenes

Etymology: Robert Barker, an Irish-born painter working in Edinburgh and London, coined this term in 1792 for his enormous circular paintings of city and landscape views, which were displayed inside a purpose-built rotunda so that viewers stood in the middle and saw the scene wrapping all the way around them. He patented the idea in 1787, and the new word was a name for the spectacle itself before it came to mean any broad view. The word was built from two Greek elements. The first, "pan", means "all," and the second comes from "horama", meaning "view" or "sight," from the verb "horan", "to see." Joined together, the parts literally signify "a view of everything," which is exactly what Barker's rotunda offered. Over time the meaning moved from the painted canvas to the scene it displayed, then to any wide prospect of land or city, and finally to a figurative overview that surveys all the main aspects of a subject.

Synonyms: view, sight, landscape, scene