Hypertext Webster Gateway: "spectacle"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Spectacle \Spec"ta*cle\, n. [F., fr. L. spectaculum, fr.
spectare to look at, to behold, v. intens. fr. specere. See
{Spy}.]
1. Something exhibited to view; usually, something presented
to view as extraordinary, or as unusual and worthy of
special notice; a remarkable or noteworthy sight; a show;
a pageant; a gazingstock.
O, piteous spectacle? O, bloody times! --Shak.
2. A spy-glass; a looking-glass. [Obs.]
Poverty a spectacle is, as thinketh me, Through
which he may his very friends see. --Chaucer.
3. pl. An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in
a light frame, and worn to assist sight, to obviate some
defect in the organs of vision, or to shield the eyes from
bright light.
4. pl. Fig.: An aid to the intellectual sight.
Shakespeare . . . needed not the spectacles of books
to read nature. --Dryden.
Syn: Show; sight; exhibition; representation; pageant.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
spectacle
n 1: something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual
sight); "the tragic spectacle of cripples trying to
escape"
2: an elaborate and remarkable display on a lavish scale
3: a blunder that makes you look ridiculous; used in the phrase
"make a spectacle of" yourself
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