Perspective

Perspective

Noun · /pəˈspɛktɪv/ · a particular way of viewing things; a point of view

Definition

A way of regarding situations, facts, or topics — a point of view shaped by experience, position, or knowledge. Also: in art, the technique of representing three-dimensional objects on a flat surface so they appear to have depth and distance. Both meanings share the idea of how things appear from where you stand.

Origin

From Medieval Latin perspectiva (the science of optics), from Latin perspicere — per (through) + specere (to look). Literally: to look through. The artistic meaning emerged in Renaissance Italy when Brunelleschi demonstrated linear perspective in the early 1400s. The figurative meaning — a mental point of view — developed from the 18th century onward.