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spectacle |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Spectacle \Spec"ta*cle\, n. [F., fr L. spectaculum fr spectare to look at to behold, v. intens. fr specere See {Spy}.] 1. Something exhibited to view; usually, something presented to view as extraordinary, or as unusual and worthy of special notice; a remarkable or noteworthy sight; a show a pageant; a gazingstock. O, piteous spectacle? O, bloody times! --Shak. 2. A spy-glass; a looking-glass. [Obs.] Poverty a spectacle is as thinketh me Through which he may his very friends see --Chaucer. 3. pl An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in a light frame, and worn to assist sight, to obviate some defect in the organs of vision, or to shield the eyes from bright light. 4. pl Fig.: An aid to the intellectual sight. Shakespeare . . . needed not the spectacles of books to read nature. --Dryden. Syn: Show sight; exhibition; representation; pageant. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: spectacle n 1: something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight); "the tragic spectacle of cripples trying to escape" 2: an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale 3: a blunder that makes you look ridiculous; used in the phrase "make a spectacle of" yourself
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