spectabilis

Forms

spectābilis (neuter spectābile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin spectō (“to watch, look at”) + -bilis.^[2][1][3] spectō is the frequentative of speciō (“to look”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”), cognate with Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “to look at”) and Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look around”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Ovid,^[3] who has a plain that can be seen from all sides, spectabilis undique campus, in the Metamorphoses.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From “visible” it comes to mean “worth looking at”, of a striking hero in Ovid,^[2] and Lewis & Short note that this sense is found only in poetry and in prose after Augustus, as in Pliny the Elder and Tacitus.^[5] Seneca uses it of men worth taking into account, “notable”.^[2] Under the emperors spectabilis was a title of high officials, found in the Digest and Justinian's Code,^[5] and medieval texts keep it as a title of definite rank.^[6] Church Latin has “visible”.^[7]

Timeline

• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid, of a plain open to view and of an outstanding hero.^[2][5][3]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca, of notable men.^[2][3]
• 533 AD – The Digest, as a title of high officials.^[5][3]
• Medieval Latin – A title of rank.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That can be seen, visible.^[2][5][1][7]
2. Worth seeing, striking, remarkable.^[2][5][1]
3. Worth considering, notable.^[2]
4. (Late Latin) A title of high officials;^[5][6] (Medieval Latin) a title of rank.^[5][6]

Word family

• inspectābilis
• spectabilitas

Related words

• spectō
• speciō
• spectāculum
• spectātor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson