Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “spectacular” come from?

Spectacular comes from Latin spectaculāris, derived from Latin spectāculum meaning "a sight or show to behold," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- meaning "to observe or perceive."

spectacular (English): Amazing or worthy of special notice; Related to,...

Definitions

  1. Amazing or worthy of special notice; Related to,...

Ancestry of “spectacular”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchspectaculairespectacular
2Frenchspectaclea show, a spectacle, a performance, a concert; a...
3Latinspectāculum—
4Latin-culumnominative neuter singular of -culus; accusative...
5Proto-Italic-klom—
6Proto-Indo-European-tlomAlternative form of *-trom
7Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
8Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “spectacular”

  • spectacularly
  • unspectacular
  • spectacularity
  • unspectacularly
  • nonspectacular
  • spectacularize
  • craptacular
  • spectacularism
  • spooktacular
  • superspectacular
  • spectacularness
  • creeptacular
  • spooktacularly
  • sucktacular
  • -tacular
  • speckie
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →