Circumspect
/ˌsɝː.kəmˈspɛkt/noun
Careful to look at and consider all circumstances before acting.
Did you know?It comes from Latin circumspicere, and the root spicere is the same one behind spy, spectacle, and inspect — all words built from the act of looking.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
circumspectus
“looked around; cautious, wary”
Latin
Latin
circumspicere
“to look around”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to look, observe”
Middle English
English
circumspect
“careful, prudent, watchful”
Modern English
English
circumspect
“careful to consider all possible consequences before acting”