Spectacle

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈspɛktəkl̩/

Definitions

1. An impressive or unusual visual event designed to attract viewers ; a situation or scene that draws notice due to its appearance or nature ; a pair of lenses mounted in a frame worn to improve eyesight
2. A remarkable display intended to captivate an audience ; a noteworthy or attention-grabbing occurrence ; eyewear used to correct or assist vision
3. A grand or elaborate visual presentation ; an observable happening that provokes public interest ; corrective glasses comprising lenses set in frames worn on the face

Etymology: Latin "spectāculum" meant "a show" or "a sight worth seeing," and it grew from "spectō," "to see, behold." That verb was a frequentative, a form signalling repeated or intense looking, built on "speciō," "to see." So the word's deepest roots lie in the act of looking hard at something, and the Roman sense was closer to a public exhibition than to any modern notion of grandeur. English borrowed the word through Middle French "spectacle" during the Middle English period, and at first it kept much of that sense of a sight presented to onlookers. The meaning of "impressive visual display" that dominates today is a later emphasis built on the same core of something worth watching. The word has a close relative in "spectaculum," which entered English as a doublet, a second form of the same Latin source that arrived by a different route. Its sibling "species," also tied to the Latin verb for seeing, shows how many English words for appearance and sight share this one visual root.

Synonyms: display, exhibition, show, performance, spectacular

Antonyms: invisibility, hiddenness, obscurity, disguise, camouflage