Synoptic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Offering a concise summary that covers the main points ; pertaining to the first three gospels of the New Testament that share a similar perspective
2. Giving an overall view or broad outline of a subject ; connected with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke due to their similar content
3. Presenting a brief and comprehensive synopsis ; relating to the group of gospels that parallel each other in narrative and theme

Etymology: The Greek word "sunopsis" was built from "sun-", meaning "together," and "opsis", meaning "view" or "sight," so its original sense was a seeing of the whole at once. The adjective "sunoptikos" carried that idea of taking in everything together at a glance, and it reached modern scholarship through New Latin "synopticus." English took the idea and applied it to the Gospels. The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, share much of their wording and structure, so they can be placed side by side and read in parallel columns, which allows the whole to be viewed together. That scholarly use is why the adjective is so closely tied to them. The more general sense, giving an overall view of a subject, grew out of the same Greek notion of seeing everything together.

Synonyms: summary, concise, abridged, overview, comprehensive

Antonyms: detailed, lengthy, extensive, thorough, elaborate