Conspicuous
/kənˈspɪk.ju.əs/noun
Easily seen or noticed; standing out so as to attract attention.
Did you know?Conspicuous comes from Latin conspicere, meaning “to look at closely” or “to catch sight of,” from con- “together” + specere “to look,” the same root behind spellbinding words like “spectacle” and “inspect.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to observe, look at”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look at, observe”
Latin
Latin
conspicere
“to catch sight of, perceive clearly”
Late Latin
Latin
conspicuus
“visible, distinguished, noticeable”
Middle English
English
conspicuous
“plainly seen, noticeable”
Modern English
English
conspicuous
“easily seen or noticed”