spectacle

noun

Etymology: From Middle English spectacle, from Middle French spectacle, from Latin spectāculum (“a show, spectacle”), from spectō (“to see, behold”), frequentative of speciō (“to see”). See species. Doublet of spectaculum.

1. An exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc.

   “The horse race was a thrilling spectacle.”

   “VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.”

2. An embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation.

   “He made a spectacle out of himself.”

3. Attributive form of spectacles.

   “Some very interesting relics of Adam and Eve were shown us, that were brought from America; such as a fine-tooth comb, made of thorns, a part of a pair of leather spectacle frames, without glasses, a boot jack made of ebony, and a set of pawpaws of props, with the backs filled with a hard substance, resembling lava.”

4. The brille of a snake.
5. A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm.