English
aspect
Aspect comes from Middle English aspect, from Latin aspectus ‘sight, appearance’, from aspiciō ‘to catch sight of’ (ad- + speciō).
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciō‘to look at’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspiciō‘to see, catch sight of’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspectus‘look, sight; appearance’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aspect
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588aspect
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspeciō‘to look at’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspiciō‘to see, catch sight of’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaspectus‘look, sight; appearance’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aspect
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588aspect
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe, That…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
spy, suspicion, microscope, espionage, skeptic, kaleidoscope, gyroscope, espy, 113 more
through Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti ‘to be looking at, to keep looking at’
scope, skeptical, endoscopic, macroscopic, spectroscopic, 111 more
through Proto-Italic *spekjō ‘to observe, see’
speculation, speculative, speculate, inconspicuous, especial, specular, 23 more
through Latin speciō ‘look, look at, behold’
despite, special, specific, species, respect, perspective, spite, spice, inspector, expectation, spectrum, inspection, spectacular, conspicuous, specify, specimen, retrospective, spectacle, spectator, inspect, retrospect, expectant, specter, speculator, specious, circumspect, 26 more
Today it means
noun Any specific feature, part, or element of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin speciō / aspect