appearance to the eye or mind; look: the physical aspect of the country.
2.
nature; quality; character: the superficial aspect of the situation.
3.
a way in which a thing may be viewed or regarded; interpretation; view: both aspects of a decision.
4.
part; feature; phase: That is the aspect of the problem that interests me most.
5.
facial expression; countenance: He wore an aspect of gloom. Hers was an aspect of happy optimism.
6.
bearing; air; mien: warlike in aspect.
7.
view commanded; exposure: The house has a southern aspect.
8.
the side or surface facing a given direction: the dorsal aspect of a fish; the northern aspect of the house.
9.
Grammar.
a.
a category or interrelated set of categories for which the verb is inflected in some languages, typically to indicate the duration, repetition, completion, or quality of the action or state denoted by the verb.
b.
a set of syntactic devices, as in the English perfect with have in I have gone, with functions similar to such inflections.
c.
any of the members or instances of these categories or sets: the Latin perfect aspect; the Russian imperfect aspect.
d.
the meaning of, or meaning typical of, such a category or construction.
e.
such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively.
10.
Astrology.
a.
the angular distance between two points as seen from the earth, primarily derived by dividing the 360 degrees of the zodiac by the integers 1 through 12.
b.
the influence of any two planets or groups of planets located at such points.
11.
Archaic. a look; glance.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L aspectus appearance, visible form, the action of looking at, equiv. to aspec- (var. s. of aspicere to observe, look at; a-a-5+ -spicere, comb. form of specere to see) + -tus suffix of v. action]
A particular look or facial expression; mien: "He was serious of aspect but wholly undistinguished"(Louis Auchincloss).
Appearance to the eye, especially from a specific vantage point.
A way in which something can be viewed by the mind: looked at all aspects of the situation. See Synonyms at phase.
A position facing or commanding a given direction; exposure.
A side or surface facing in a particular direction: the ventral aspect of the body.
The configuration of the stars or planets in relation to one another.
This configuration, thought by astrologers to influence human affairs.
Grammar A category of the verb designating primarily the relation of the action to the passage of time, especially in reference to completion, duration, or repetition.
Archaic An act of looking or gazing.
[Middle English, from Latin aspectus, a view, from past participle of aspicere, to look at : ad-, ad- + specere, to look; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
c.1386, an astronomical term, "relative position of the planets as they appear," from L. aspectus "seeing, looking, appearance," pp. of aspicere "to look at," from ad- "to" + specare "to look." Meaning "the look one wears, the appearance of things" arose 1590s.
As"pect\, n. [L. aspectus, fr. aspicere, aspectum, to look at; ad + spicere, specere, to look, akin to E. spy.]1. The act of looking; vision; gaze; glance. [R.] "The basilisk killeth by aspect." --Bacon. His aspect was bent on the ground. --Sir W. Scott. 2. Look, or particular appearance of the face; countenance; mien; air. "Serious in aspect." --Dryden. [Craggs] with aspect open shall erect his head. --Pope. 3. Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view. "The aspect of affairs." --Macaulay. The true aspect of a world lying in its rubbish. --T. Burnet. 4. Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass; as, a house has a southern aspect, that is, a position which faces the south. 5. Prospect; outlook. [Obs.] This town affords a good aspect toward the hill from whence we descended. --Evelyn. 6. (Astrol.) The situation of planets or stars with respect to one another, or the angle formed by the rays of light proceeding from them and meeting at the eye; the joint look of planets or stars upon each other or upon the earth. --Milton. Note: The aspects which two planets can assume are five; sextile, ?, when the planets are 60[deg] apart; quartile, or quadrate, ?, when their distance is 90[deg] or the quarter of a circle; trine, ?, when the distance is 120[deg]; opposition, ?, when the distance is 180[deg], or half a circle; and conjunction, ?, when they are in the same degree. Astrology taught that the aspects of the planets exerted an influence on human affairs, in some situations for good and in others for evil. 7. (Astrol.) The influence of the stars for good or evil; as, an ill aspect. --Shak. The astrologers call the evil influences of the stars evil aspects. --Bacon. Aspect of a plane (Geom.), the direction of the plane.