aspectus

Latin

Alternative forms

• adspectus

Etymology

Perfect passive participle of aspiciō (“behold, see; catch sight of”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [asˈpɛk.tʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [asˈpɛk.tus]

Participle

aspectus (feminine aspecta, neuter aspectum); first/second-declension participle

1. looked at, beheld, having been looked at
2. caught sight of, noticed, having been noticed
3. surveyed, inspected, having been inspected

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	aspectus	aspecta	aspectum		aspectī	aspectae	aspecta
genitive	aspectī	aspectae	aspectī		aspectōrum	aspectārum	aspectōrum
dative	aspectō	aspectae	aspectō		aspectīs
accusative	aspectum	aspectam	aspectum		aspectōs	aspectās	aspecta
ablative	aspectō	aspectā	aspectō		aspectīs
vocative	aspecte	aspecta	aspectum		aspectī	aspectae	aspecta

Noun

aspectus m (genitive aspectūs); fourth declension

1. the act of seeing or looking at something; look, sight, vision, view
   • 63 BCE, Cicero, Catiline Orations Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita.17:

     Et, sī mē meīs cīvibus iniūria suspectum tam graviter atque offēnsum vidērem, carēre mē aspectū cīvium quam īnfēstīs omnium oculīs cōnspicī māllem; tū cum cōnscientiā scelerum tuōrum agnōscās odium omnium — iūstum et iam diū tibi dēbitum — dubitās, quōrum mentēs sēnsūsque vulnerās, eōrum aspectum praesentiamque vītāre?

     And, if I saw myself unjustly suspected and so seriously hated by my citizens, I would prefer to be out of sight of the citizens than to be viewed by the hostile eyes of all. [But] you, since with awareness of your own crimes you acknowledge the hatred of all — [hatred that is] just and already long owed to you — do you hesitate, for those whose minds and feelings you have wounded, to avoid their sight and presence?
     (Infinitive carere + ablative of separation aspectū; infinitive vitare + direct object aspectum.)

2. sense of sight
3. visibility, appearance, vision; aspect, presence, mien, countenance; form; color
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.279–280:

     At vērō Aenēās aspectū obmūtuit āmēns,
     arrēctaeque horrōre comae, et vōx faucibus haesit.

     But in truth Aeneas, bewildered by the vision, was struck speechless. His hair stood bristling, and his voice was caught in his throat.
     (Mercury had appeared suddenly to Aeneas; the god spoke, and vanished.)

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	aspectus	aspectūs
genitive	aspectūs	aspectuum
dative	aspectuī	aspectibus
accusative	aspectum	aspectūs
ablative	aspectū	aspectibus
vocative	aspectus	aspectūs

Descendants

• English: aspect
• Catalan: aspecte
• French: aspect
• German: Aspekt
• Italian: aspetto
• Old Galician-Portuguese: aspeito
• Polish: aspekt
• Portuguese: aspecto, aspeto
• Russian: аспе́кт m (aspékt)
• Sicilian: aspettu
• Spanish: aspecto

Related terms

• aspectābilis
• aspectāmen
• aspectiō
• aspectō
• aspiciō

References

• “aspectus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “aspectus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “aspectus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the city is very beautifully situated: urbs situ ad aspectum praeclara est
    
  • to keep out of a person's sight: fugere alicuius conspectum, aspectum
    
  • to take in everything at a glance: omnia uno aspectu, conspectu intueri
    
  • to come within the sphere of the senses: sub sensum or sub oculos, sub aspectum cadere
    
  • to represent a thing vividly: oculis or sub oculos, sub aspectum subicere aliquid
    
  • graphic depiction: rerum sub aspectum paene subiectio (De Or. 3. 53. 202)
    
  • to give a general idea of a thing: sub unum aspectum subicere aliquid