Dictionary

onlooker en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑnˌlʊkəɹ/ Northern US or with the cot–caught merger
• /ˈɒnlʉkəɻ/ (Northern-Ireland)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˈɔnlʊkə/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• [ˈɔ̟nlʊkə] ~ [ˈɞ̠nlʊkə] (New-Zealand)
• /ˈɒnˌlʊkə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɔnˌlɵkə/ (British, Received-Pronunciation, Southern, Standard)
• /ˈɒnlʊkə/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈɔnlʉkəɾ/ (Scotland)
• /ˈɔnˌlʊkəɹ/ General American, especially Midland US, Southern US, without the cot–caught merger

Etymology

Etymology tree English on- Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn Old English lōcian Middle English loken English look Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English looker English onlooker From on- (prefix meaning ‘at; on, upon’) + looker (“one that looks”), from the verb look on. Compare Old English onlōciend (“one who looks on or watches”), which did not survive into Middle English; forlookere was used in the latter language.

Meanings

1. One who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator.
   • And as thei iudge of cheſe, ſo iudge thei of bokes. / On lokers on whiche, who that narowly lokes, / Maie loke for this: […] 1550, John Heywood, “Of Bokes and Chese”, in An Hundred Epigrammes. […], London: […] Thomas Berthelet, →OCLC, signature [Cvi], recto:
   • I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.
   • As a result, while the train was being shunted at Bombay, the buffers became locked, producing a situation most intriguing for the onlookers, but exasperating for the exalted passengers and the unhappy railway authorities. 1945 September–October, C[uthbert] Hamilton Ellis, “Royal Trains—V”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 249:
   • Please allow me to adjust my pants / So that I may dance the good time dance / And put the onlookers and innocent bystanders into a trance 2003 (date recorded), “The Mob Goes Wild” (0:00 from the start), in Neil Fallon (lyrics), Blast Tyrant (hard rock, stoner rock), performed by Clutch, New York, N.Y.: DRT Entertainment, published 23 March 2004, →OCLC:
   • [T]hough his spirits seemed strung up to a high pitch, his merriment was more the merriment of a cynical and amused onlooker than of one who responds to the gaiety of his companions. 1912, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], chapter XIV, in The Unbearable Bassington, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company; […], →OCLC, page 256:
   • When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform. 1945 May–June, Cecil J[ohn] Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 152:

Forms

Relateds

looker-on · onlook · onlooking

Synonyms

watcher · bystander · looker-on