perspective
/pərˈspektɪv/·퍼스펙티브·noun
a particular way of considering something; sense of depth
LatinCEFR B2
Root
per- (through) + Latin 'spicere/spectare' (look) + -ive (relating to)
Latin perspicere (look through) → Medieval Latin perspectiva (the art of seeing through) → Middle English perspective
In a word
per- (through) + spect (look) = 'look through'. When Renaissance painters built depth into a flat canvas, they calculated rays passing through the viewer's eye. The technique itself was named perspective. Today, in a meeting, someone says "let's see it from a different perspective" — etymologically, "from a different ray of sight".
Examples
Try to see things from her perspective.
Travel gives you a new perspective.
Renaissance artists mastered perspective.
Related
inspectrespectsuspectspectacleaspect