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spectacle

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4 dictionary results for: spectacles

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

spec·ta·cle

[spek-tuh-kuh

l] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	anything presented to the sight or view, esp. something of a striking or impressive kind: The stars make a fine spectacle tonight.

2.	a public show or display, esp. on a large scale: The coronation was a lavish spectacle.

3.	spectacles. eyeglasses, esp. with pieces passing over or around the ears for holding them in place.

Often, spectacles.

a.	something resembling spectacles in shape or function.

b.	any of various devices suggesting spectacles, as one attached to a semaphore to display lights or different colors by colored glass.

5.	Obsolete. a spyglass.

—Idiom

6.	make a spectacle of oneself, to call attention to one's unseemly behavior; behave foolishly or badly in public: They tell me I made a spectacle of myself at the party last night.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME < L spectāculum a sight, spectacle, deriv. of spectāre, freq. of specere to look, regard. See -cle²

]

—Related forms

spec·ta·cle·less, adjective

spec·ta·cle·like, adjective

—Synonyms 1. marvel, wonder, sight, show.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

spec·ta·cle (spěk'tə-kəl) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. Something that can be seen or viewed, especially something of a remarkable or impressive nature.
2. A public performance or display, especially one on a large or lavish scale.
3. A regrettable public display, as of bad behavior: drank too much and made a spectacle of himself.
4. A pair of eyeglasses.
5. Something resembling eyeglasses in shape or suggesting them in function.
spectacles
1. A pair of eyeglasses.
2. Something resembling eyeglasses in shape or suggesting them in function.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin spectāculum, from spectāre, to watch, frequentative of specere, to look at; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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