entry
view
/vjuː/what the eye or mind takes in
From Latin vide (to see).
from Latin videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). In general use, "examination by the eye,"
from Anglo-French vewe , Old French veue "light, brightness; look, appearance; eyesight, vision," noun use of fem. past...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French veue f (French vue f), feminine past participle of veoir (“to see”) (French voir). Cognate with Italian...
from Anglo-French vewe , Old French veue "light, brightness; look, appearance; eyesight, vision," noun use of fem. past...
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"). In general use, "examination by the eye,"
from Anglo-French vewe , Old French veue "light, brightness; look, appearance; eyesight, vision," noun use of fem. past...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French veue f (French vue f), feminine past participle of veoir (“to see”) (French voir). Cognate with Italian...
from Anglo-French vewe , Old French veue "light, brightness; look, appearance; eyesight, vision," noun use of fem. past...
+1 more sourceA word can travel a long way on nothing more than an eyeball. In medieval French, veue was the thing seen, and English borrowed it as view before it started meaning not just a landscape or a line of sight, but also a person’s mental angle on the world. That’s why view has such useful cousins: review is seeing again, preview is seeing beforehand, and purview is the thing already “seen to” or covered by authority. Even consider joins the family by a side road, because Latin considerare may originally have meant something like looking at the stars carefully. So when you say you have a view, you’re not just talking about what’s in front of you — you’re carrying around a tiny medieval act of looking, polished into an opinion.
The Story
A word can travel a long way on nothing more than an eyeball. In medieval French, veue was the thing seen, and English borrowed it as view before it started meaning not just a landscape or a line of sight, but also a person’s mental angle on the world. That’s why view has such useful cousins: review is seeing again, preview is seeing beforehand, and purview is the thing already “seen to” or covered by authority. Even consider joins the family by a side road, because Latin considerare may originally have meant something like looking at the stars carefully. So when you say you have a view, you’re not just talking about what’s in front of you — you’re carrying around a tiny medieval act of looking, polished into an opinion.
Modern Usage
an attractive person, especially as something to look at
Popularized by: internet and Urban Dictionary usage
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing 'check the view' style usage
Kin & Kindred
From 'vide'·to see
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary