spectacle

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English spectacle, from Middle French spectacle, from Latin spectāculum (“a show, spectacle”), from spectō (“to see, behold”), frequentative of speciō (“to see”). See species. Doublet of spectaculum. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈspɛktəkl̩/ Hyphenation: spec‧ta‧cle === Noun === spectacle (plural spectacles) An exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc. 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games[1] In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay. An embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation. Attributive form of spectacles. The brille of a snake. (rail transport) A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm. ==== Synonyms ==== (exciting event): show; pageant (optical instrument): glasses, eyeglasses, specs ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== species spectacular speculate ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “spectacle”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. Railway semaphore signal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia “spectacle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == French == === Etymology === From Latin spectaculum, from spectare (“to look”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /spɛk.takl/ Hyphenation: spec‧ta‧cle === Noun === spectacle m (plural spectacles) a show, a spectacle, a performance, a concert a sight, a showing, a display ==== Derived terms ==== s'offrir en spectacle se donner en spectacle ==== Descendants ==== === Further reading === “spectacle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Middle English == === Noun === spectacle something that helps understanding ==== Descendants ==== English: spectacle