What does "spectacle" mean?
Spectacle: A spy-glass; a looking-glass. [Obs.] Poverty a spectacle is, as thinketh me, Through which he may his very friends see. Chaucer.
Additional senses
- 2.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.
- 3.pl. Fig.: An aid to the intellectual sight. Shakespeare . . . needed not the spectacles of books to read nature. Dryden.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00