specular en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈspɛk.jʊ.lə/ (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈspɛk.jə.lɚ/ (US)
Etymology
From Latin speculāris, from speculum; and in some senses from speculārī (“to watch, observe”). Some later senses via French spéculaire.
Meanings
-
Pertaining to mirrors; mirror-like, reflective.
a perfect likeness would rather suggest a specular, and hence speculatory, phenomenon [...].
1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 14:
-
Of or relating to a speculum; conducted with the aid of a speculum.
a specular examination
-
Assisting sight, like a lens etc.
Thy specular orb / Apply to well-dissected kernels; lo! / In each observe the slender threads / Of first-beginning trees.
1708, John Philips, Cyder:
-
(poetic) Offering an expansive view; picturesque.
Look once more, e're we leave this specular mount.
1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:Calm as the Universe, from specular towers / Of heaven contemplated by Spirits pure.
1833, William Wordsworth, Hope Smiled:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most specular | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more specular | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
specularize · specularization · aspecular · specular iron · specular stone · despecularize · specularly · specularity · nonspecular