Etymologically
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perspectiva

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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]

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