respecto
Pronunciation
Forms
respectō (present infinitive respectāre, perfect active respectāvī, supine respectātum); first conjugation[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin respiciō (“to look back”) + -tō, a frequentative.[2][3] Wiktionary analyses it as re- and spectō (“to look at”).[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's first citation is Plautus' Menaechmi, where a man keeps looking back in case his wife is following him.[2]
Semantic evolution
It means to keep looking round or back:[2][3] Terence asks why someone keeps looking back when there is no danger, Virgil has soldiers who look back while covering their backs with their shields, and Quintilian an advocate who looks round at the benches.[2] Lucretius uses it of waiting in expectation, of those who lay silent, buried in sleep, until the sun brought light.[2] As a transitive verb it means to look back at, to look round for or await, and to have regard for: Cicero speaks of expecting a like favour in return, and Virgil speaks of divine powers that have regard for the pious.[2]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of looking back.[2]
- 190–159 BC – Terence.[2][3]
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius of waiting for the sun.[2]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero of awaiting a return.[2]
- 70–19 BC – Virgil of gods who regard the pious.[2]
Meanings
Verb
- To keep looking round or back.[2][3][1]
- To wait in expectation; to look round for, await.[2][1]
- To keep looking back at; to have regard for.[2][3]