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Webster 1913 Edition

Aspect

As′pect

,
Noun.
[L.
aspectus
, fr.
aspicere
,
aspectum
, to look at;
ad
+
spicere
,
specere
, to look, akin to E.
spy
.]
1.
The act of looking; vision; gaze; glance.
[R.]
“The basilisk killeth by aspect.”
Bacon.
His
aspect
was bent on the ground.
Sir W. Scott.
2.
Look, or particular appearance of the face; countenance; mien; air.
“Serious in aspect.”
Dryden.
[Craggs] with
aspect
open shall erect his head.
Pope.
3.
Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view.
“The aspect of affairs.”
Macaulay.
The true
aspect
of a world lying in its rubbish.
T. Burnet.
4.
Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass;
as, a house has a southern
aspect
, that is, a position which faces the south
.
5.
Prospect; outlook.
[Obs.]
This town affords a good
aspect
toward the hill from whence we descended.
Evelyn.
6.
(Astrol.)
The situation of planets or stars with respect to one another, or the angle formed by the rays of light proceeding from them and meeting at the eye; the joint look of planets or stars upon each other or upon the earth.
Milton.
☞ The aspects which two planets can assume are five; sextile, [GREEK], when the planets are 60° apart; quartile, or quadrate, [GREEK], when their distance is 90° or the quarter of a circle; trine, [GREEK], when the distance is 120°; opposition, [GREEK], when the distance is 180°, or half a circle; and conjunction, [GREEK], when they are in the same degree. Astrology taught that the aspects of the planets exerted an influence on human affairs, in some situations for good and in others for evil.
7.
(Astrol.)
The influence of the stars for good or evil;
as, an ill
aspect
.
Shak.
The astrologers call the evil influences of the stars evil
aspects
.
Bacon.
Aspect of a plane
(Geom.)
,
the direction of the plane.

As-pect′

,
Verb.
T.
[L.
aspectare
, v. intens. of
aspicere
. See
Aspect
,
Noun.
]
To behold; to look at.
[Obs.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Aspect

'ASPECT

,
Noun.
[L. aspectus, from aspicio, to look on, of ad and specio, to see or look.]
1.
Look; view; appearance to the eye or the mind; as, to present an object or a subject in its true aspect, or under a double aspect. So we say, public affairs have a favorable aspect.
2.
Countenance; look, or particular appearance of the face; as a mild or severe aspect.
3.
View; sight; act of seeing. [This sense is now unusual.]
4.
Position or situation with regard to seeing, or that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; as, a house has a southern aspect, that is, a position which faces or looks to the south.
5.
In astronomy, the situation of one planet with respect to another. The aspects are five sextile, when the planets are 60 degrees distant; quartile or quadrate, when their distance is 90 degrees, or the quarter of a circle; trine, when the distance is 120 degrees; opposition, when the distance is 180 degrees, or half a circle; and conjunction, when they are in the same degree.

Definition 2024

aspect

aspect

English

Noun

aspect ‎(plural aspects)

  1. Any specific feature, part, or element of something.
  2. The way something appears when viewed from a certain direction or perspective.
  3. The way something appears when considered from a certain point of view.
  4. A phase or a partial, but significant view or description of something.
  5. One's appearance or expression. [from 16th c.]
    • 1800, John Dryden, Palamon and Arcite from Fables, Ancient and Modern
      In knots they stand, or in a rank they walk, // Serious in aspect, earnest in their talk
    • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
      By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
    • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 145:
      It is Stephen Gardiner, black and scowling, his aspect in no way improved by his trip to Rome.
  6. Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass.
    The house has a southern aspect, i.e. a position which faces the south.‎
  7. Prospect; outlook.
    • 1643, John Evelyn, Diary
      This town affords a good aspect toward the hill from whence we descended ; nor does it deceive us ; for it is handsomely built ...
  8. (grammar) A grammatical quality of a verb which determines the relationship of the speaker to the internal temporal flow of the event the verb describes, or whether the speaker views the event from outside as a whole, or from within as it is unfolding. [from 19th c.]
  9. (astrology) The relative position of heavenly bodies as they appear to an observer on earth; the angular relationship between points in a horoscope. [from 14th c.]
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
    • 1683, George Wharton, “Of the Planetary Aspects, both Old and New, their Characters, and Æquations”, in John Gadbury, editor, The Works of that Late Most Excellent Philosopher and Astronomer, Sir George Wharton, Bar[onet]. Collected into One Entire Volume, London: Printed by H. H. for John Leigh, at Stationers Hall, OCLC 6498633, page 90:
      Kepler (the Lyncæus of the laſt Age) defines an Aſpect in this manner: Aſpectus eſt Angulus à Radiis Luminoſis binorum Planetarum in terra formatus, efficax ad ſtimulandum naturam ſublunarem. It is (ſaith he) an Angle made in the Earth by the Luminous Beams of two Planets, of ſtrength to ſtir up the vertue of all ſublunary things.
  10. (obsolete) The act of looking at something; gaze. [14th-19th c.]
    • 1590, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum, 924:
      The tradition is no less ancient, that the basilisk killeth by aspect ; and that the wolf, if he see a man first, by aspect striketh a man hoarse.
    • 1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, Chapter 1:
      ... his aspect was bent on the ground with an appearance of deep dejection, which might be almost construed into apathy, ...
  11. (obsolete) Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view.
    • 1684, Thomas Burnet, The Theory of the Earth, Vol 1, Chapter IX.
      They are both in my judgment the image or picture of a great Ruine, and have the true aspect of a World lying in its rubbish.
    • 1855, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II, Vol. IV, Chapter XVIII
      Three days later he opened the parliament. The aspect of affairs was, on the whole, cheering.
  12. (programming) In aspect-oriented programming, a feature or component that can be applied to parts of a program independent of any inheritance hierarchy.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • (grammar): aspectuality
  • (grammar): Aktionsart, aktionsart

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: as‧pect

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin aspectus.

Noun

aspect n ‎(plural aspecten, diminutive aspectje n)

  1. aspect, appearance

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin aspectus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aspɛ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛ
  • Homophone: aspects

Noun

aspect m ‎(plural aspects)

  1. aspect

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French aspect, Latin aspectus.

Noun

aspect n ‎(plural aspecte)

  1. aspect, look

Synonyms

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin aspectus ‎(“look, sight; appearance”), from aspiciō ‎(“see; catch sight of; inspect”), from ad- ‎(“to, towards, at”) + speciō ‎(“look, look at, behold; observe”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæspɛkt/
  • Hyphenation: as‧pect

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