perspectiva

Forms

perspectīva f (genitive perspectīvae); first declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin perspectīvus (“relating to sight, optical”), its feminine used as a noun, short for ⟨ars perspectiva⟩, “the art of sight”.^[2][3] The TLL counts it among the words of the Middle Ages.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

British scholastic writers such as Robert Kilwardby use it for the science of optics.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It named optics, the science of vision, which scholastic writers discussed as a branch of mathematics,^[2][1] and was used as the title of books on the subject.^[2] English perspective first meant the same science; the painter's sense came later, probably under the influence of Italian prospettiva.^[3]

Timeline

• late 14th century – English perspective, the science of optics, comes from it through Old French.^[3]
• c. 1418 – A Polish philosophical text calls it the science of the visual line.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) Optics, the science of sight.^[2][1][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A book on optics.^[2]

Related words

• perspectivus
• English perspective

References

1. ^ a b c d Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
2. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften