Etymologically
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spectator

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [spɛkˈtaː.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [spekˈtaː.tor][1]

Forms

spectātor m (genitive spectātōris); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin spectō + -tor, an agent noun from the verb “to watch”,[2][1] which is formed from speciō (“to look at”); it is a doublet of speculātor.[1] De Vaan traces ⟨speciō⟩ to Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”), cognate with Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “sees”), Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look around”) and Old High German spehōn (“to spy”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[3][4] whose Captivi ends by telling the spectators that the play was made for decent manners.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a person who watches or observes, a witness, as Virgil's “I would wish his father were here to watch”, and a spectator at a play or show, or a sightseer.[2][5] Cicero calls people spectators of the things above and in the sky.[5] It is also a critical observer or examiner, as Pliny the Younger's emperor who does not hang over his guests watching and noting.[2][1] The feminine is spectātrīx.[6]

In British Medieval Latin it is an onlooker or witness, as of a martyrdom.[7] English spectator is from it, first in the 1580s.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus addresses the spectators of a play.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of people watching the heavens.[5][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of a father watching his son.[2][4]
  • 1580s – Borrowed into English as spectator.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who watches, observer, witness.[2][5][1][6]
  2. A spectator at a play or show; a sightseer.[2]
  3. A critical observer, examiner, judge.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com