English → Latin
“gaze” in Latin
spectōto watch, observe, look at, consider; to examine, try, test; to aim, strive, or endeavour afteraspectōto look at attentively; observe, watch, regard; to look at with respect or desire; pay attention to; to look or lie towacontemplorto observe, note or notice; to gaze at or regard; to contemplateintueorto look at, upon or towards; to consider, regard, observe, give attention to, contemplate; to regard with admiration, adobtūtusan instance of seeing or looking at, a gazecōnspectusa sight; sight (the ability to see; power of sight); presence, proximityaspiciōto look at, towards, or upon; behold, gaze at or upon; view, see, examine, survey, inspect, investigate; regard, respectconvertōto turn upside-down; to invert; to turn over (soil etc); to turn back or recoil
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
gaze v.
To gaze at or upon anything, spectare: aspectare: contemplari, intueri, contueri aliquem or aliquid [SYN. in CONTEMPLATE]. To gaze steadily, etc., at anything, obtutum figere in aliqua re (Cic., N.D., 2, 24, but in poetry); defixis oculis intueri aliquid; defigere oculos in aliqua re (e.g., in vultu regis, Curt., ; in te, Ov. In Cic., it is only figuratively, in possessiones alicujus): oculos non movere or non dejicere a re: oculi habitant in re: admirari (to g at with admiration) [Vid: CONTEMPLATE]: ☞ quam maxime intentis oculis contemplari is used by Cic. with a quod aiunt; and IMPROP., totam causam cont., Flaccus, 11.
gaze s.
obtutus, ūs: obtutus oculorum (e.g., alicujus obtutus oculorum in cogitando, Cic., De Or., 3, 5; obtutum figere aliquo, N.D., 2, 24, is in poetry): conspectus (sight; mostly with reference to the presence of an object within anybody’s sphere of vision; to present itself to anybody’s gaze, dare se in conspectum alicui; to withdraw from anybody’s gaze, fugere e conspectu alicujus): aspectus (sight; e.g., to direct their gaze to any object they please, aspectum quo vellent... convertere). An eager and fixed gaze, acer et defixus aspectus (Auct., ad Her., 3, 15, 27). ☞ Intuitus is post-classical, and only in the sense of “respect.” In abies hilarior intuitu, others read in totum, Plin., 16, 10, 9. To fix one’s gaze on any object, oculos convertere ad aliquid [Vid: To GAZE AT].
Gazing-stock, Vid.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for gaze?
- The usual Latin words for “gaze” are spectō, aspectō, contemplor; also intueor, obtūtus, cōnspectus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.