Adjacent Words

Perspective definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PERSPEC'TIVE, a. [infra.] Pertaining to the science of optics; optical.
1. Pertaining to the art of perspective.
PERSPEC'TIVE, n. [L. perspicio; per and specio, to see.]
1. A glass through which objects are viewed.
2. The art of drawing on a plane surface true resemblances or pictures of objects, as the objects appear to the eye from any distance and situation, real and imaginary; as the rules of perspective.
3. A representation of objects in perspective.
4. View; vista; as perspectives of pleasant shades.
5. A kind of painting, often seen in gardens and at the end of a gallery, designed expressly to deceive the sight by representing the continuation of an alley, a building, a landscape or the like.
Aerial perspective,the art of giving due diminution to the strength of light, shade and colors of objects, according to their distances and the quantity of light falling on them, and to the medium through which they are seen.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a way of regarding situations or topics etc.; "consider what follows from the positivist view" [syn: position, view, perspective]
2: the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer [syn: perspective, linear perspective]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English perspectyf, from Medieval Latin perspectivum, from neuter of perspectivus of sight, optical, from Latin perspectus, past participle of perspicere to look through, see clearly, from per- through + specere to look — more at per-, spy Date: 14th century archaic an optical glass (as a telescope) II. noun Etymology: Middle French, probably modification of Old Italian prospettiva, from prospetto view, prospect, from Latin prospectus — more at prospect Date: 1563 1. a. the technique or process of representing on a plane or curved surface the spatial relation of objects as they might appear to the eye; specifically representation in a drawing or painting of parallel lines as converging in order to give the illusion of depth and distance b. a picture in perspective 2. a. the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed <places the issues in proper perspective>; also point of view b. the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance <urge you to maintain your perspective and to view your own task in a larger framework — W. J. Cohen> 3. a. a visible scene; especially one giving a distinctive impression of distance ; vista b. a mental view or prospect <to gain a broader perspective on the international scene — Current Biography> 4. the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distance and positions • perspectival adjective III. adjective Etymology: Middle English, optical, from Medieval Latin perspectivus Date: 1570 1. obsolete aiding the vision <his eyes should be like unto the wrong end of a perspective glass — Alexander Pope> 2. of, relating to, employing, or seen in perspective <perspective drawing> • perspectively adverb

Britannica Concise

Depiction of three-dimensional objects and spatial relationships on a two-dimensional plane. In Western art, illusions of volume and space are generally created by use of the linear perspective system, based on the observation that objects appear to shrink and parallel lines to converge at an infinitely distant vanishing point as they recede in space from the viewer. The vanishing point may have been known to the Greeks and Romans but had been lost until F. Brunelleschi rediscovered the principles of linear or "mathematical" perspective early in the 15th cent. Linear perspective dominated Western painting until the late 19th cent., when P. Cé zanne flattened the conventional picture plane. The Cubists and other 20th-cent. painters abandoned depiction of three-dimensional space altogether. See also aerial perspective.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a the art of drawing solid objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of relative positions, size, etc. b a picture drawn in this way. 2 the apparent relation between visible objects as to position, distance, etc. 3 a mental view of the relative importance of things (keep the right perspective). 4 a geographical or imaginary prospect. --adj. of or in perspective. Phrases and idioms: in perspective 1 drawn or viewed according to the rules of perspective. 2 correctly regarded in terms of relative importance. Derivatives: perspectival adj. perspectively adv. Etymology: ME f. med.L perspectiva (ars art) f. perspicere perspect- (as PER-, specere spect- look)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perspective Per*spec"tive, a. [L. perspicere, perspectum, to look through; per + spicere, specere, to look: cf. F. perspectif; or from E. perspective, n. See Spy, n.] 1. Of or pertaining to the science of vision; optical. [Obs.] --Bacon. 2. Pertaining to the art, or in accordance with the laws, of perspective. Perspective plane, the plane or surface on which the objects are delineated, or the picture drawn; the plane of projection; -- distinguished from the ground plane, which is that on which the objects are represented as standing. When this plane is oblique to the principal face of the object, the perspective is called oblique perspective; when parallel to that face, parallel perspective. Perspective shell (Zo["o]l.), any shell of the genus Solarium and allied genera. See Solarium.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Perspective Per*spec"tive, n. [F. perspective, fr. perspectif: cf. It. perspettiva. See Perspective, a.] 1. A glass through which objects are viewed. [Obs.] ``Not a perspective, but a mirror.'' --Sir T. Browne. 2. That which is seen through an opening; a view; a vista. ``The perspective of life.'' --Goldsmith. 3. The effect of distance upon the appearance of objects, by means of which the eye recognized them as being at a more or less measurable distance. Hence, a["e]rial perspective, the assumed greater vagueness or uncertainty of outline in distant objects. A["e]rial perspective is the expression of space by any means whatsoever, sharpness of edge, vividness of color, etc. --Ruskin. 4. The art and the science of so delineating objects that they shall seem to grow smaller as they recede from the eye; -- called also linear perspective. 5. A drawing in linear perspective. Isometrical perspective, an inaccurate term for a mechanical way of representing objects in the direction of the diagonal of a cube. Perspective glass, a telescope which shows objects in the right position.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(perspectives) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A particular perspective is a particular way of thinking about something, especially one that is influenced by your beliefs or experiences. He says the death of his father 18 months ago has given him a new perspective on life... Most literature on the subject of immigrants in France has been written from the perspective of the French themselves... I would like to offer a historical perspective. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. If you get something in perspective or into perspective, you judge its real importance by considering it in relation to everything else. If you get something out of perspective, you fail to judge its real importance in relation to everything else. Remember to keep things in perspective... It helps to put their personal problems into perspective... I let things get out of perspective. PHRASE: PHR after v 3. Perspective is the art of making some objects or people in a picture look further away than others.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Vista, prospect, view.

Moby Thesaurus

aesthetic distance, airscape, angle, approach, arrangement, atmosphere, attitude, balance, base, brushwork, cityscape, clearance, cloudscape, color, command, compass, composition, deep space, depths of space, design, distance, divergence, domination, draftsmanship, extent, eyereach, eyeshot, eyesight, farness, field of view, field of vision, footing, ground, grouping, horizon, infinity, ken, landscape, leeway, length, light-years, limit of vision, line, line of sight, lookout, margin, mileage, naked eye, outlook, outlook over, painterliness, panorama, parsecs, piece, point of view, position, post, prospect, range, reach, remoteness, riverscape, scan, scape, scene, scenery, scenic view, scope, scope of vision, seascape, seat, sentiment, separation, shading, shadow, sight, sightliness, skyscape, space, span, stand, standing, standpoint, station, status, stretch, stride, survey, sweep, technique, tone, townscape, treatment, values, vantage point, venue, view, viewpoint, vista, waterscape, way, ways