Bespectacled

/bɪˈspɛktəkəld/ adjective

Definition

Wearing glasses or spectacles; having spectacles on.

Etymology

From 'be-' (to furnish with) plus 'spectacle' (eyeglasses), with the adjectival suffix '-ed.' 'Spectacle' comes from Latin 'spectaculum' (a sight or show) and 'spectare' (to watch). The word suggests someone marked or characterized by wearing glasses.

Kelly Says

Calling someone 'bespectacled' added a whiff of oddity or nerdiness—because glasses were once rare and expensive, wearing them marked you as intellectual or eccentric, and the word carries that old social meaning even now.

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