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aesthetic

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: æsthetic

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewis-dʰh₁
Proto-Hellenic *awistʰomai
Ancient Greek αἰσθάνομαι (aisthánomai)
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Ancient Greek -τις (-tis)
Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs)
Ancient Greek αἴσθησῐς (aísthēsĭs)
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)
Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós)
Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós)bor.
Latin aesthēticusder.
German Ästhetikder.
▲
New Latin aesthēticusbor.
French esthétiqueder.
English aesthetic

    From German Ästhetik or French esthétique, both from New Latin aesthēticus, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós, “of sense perception”), from αἰσθάνομαι (aisthánomai, “to feel”); analysable as aesthe(sis) +‎ -tic.

    Cognates include Proto-Germanic *awiz (“obvious”), Sanskrit आविस् (āvís, “manifestly, evidently”) and Latin audiō.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    aesthetic (comparative more aesthetic, superlative most aesthetic)

    1. Concerned with beauty, artistic effect, or appearance.
      Coordinate term: cosmetic
      It works well enough, but the shabby exterior offends his aesthetic sensibilities.
      • 1881, W. S. Gilbert, Patience, act I:
        If you're anxious for to shine in the high aesthetic line as a man of culture rare,
        You must get up all the germs of the transcendental terms, and plant them everywhere.
      • 1941 August, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The English Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 358:
        If Euston is not typically English, St. Pancras is. Its façade is a nightmare of improbable Gothic. It is fairly plastered with the aesthetic ideals of 1868, and the only beautiful thing about it is Barlow's roof. It is haunted by the stuffier kind of ghost. Yet there is something about the ordered whole of St. Pancras that would make demolition a terrible pity.
      • 2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Jerusalem: The Biography – A History of the Middle East, page 268:
        But he was also a natural chronicler: one senses that, even as his schemes collapsed, this aesthetic Arab Quixote knew the stories would make great material for his witty, sharp, melancholic writings.
    2. (rarely proscribed) Beautiful or appealing to one's sense of beauty or art.
      Synonyms: aesthetical, tasteful
      Antonyms: inaesthetic, unaesthetic
      The design of the lobby cannot be considered particularly aesthetic.
      • 2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Wakefield Kirkgate”, in RAIL, number 948, page 28:
        The station was rebuilt yet again by British Rail in 1967, when large chunks of the 19th century station were demolished and replaced with 'modern' buildings that were less than aesthetic.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    aesthetic (plural aesthetics)

    2. (usually in the plural) The study of art or beauty.
    4. (often in the plural) That which appeals to the senses.
    6. The set of artistic motifs defining a collection of things, especially works of art; more broadly, their aura or “vibe”.
      Her most recent works have this quirky, nonchalant aesthetic inspired by ’90s teen culture.
      I really like the goth aesthetic you've got going there.
      • 2011 December 18, Jay Rayner, “Restaurant review: Aurelia”, in The Observer‎[1], →ISSN, archived from the original on 15 August 2022:
        A thin, crunchy lemon and thyme rosti was essentially the pimped-up aesthetic of the Kettle chip. That's OK. I like Kettle chips.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Descendants

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    • → Spanish: aesthetic
    • → Portuguese: aesthetic
    • → Italian: aesthetic

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Spanish

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    Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-
    Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewis-dʰh₁
    Proto-Hellenic *awistʰomai
    Ancient Greek αἰσθάνομαι (aisthánomai)
    Proto-Indo-European *-tis
    Ancient Greek -τις (-tis)
    Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs)
    Ancient Greek αἴσθησῐς (aísthēsĭs)
    Proto-Indo-European *-kos
    Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)
    Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós)
    Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós)bor.
    Latin aesthēticusder.
    German Ästhetikder.
    ▲
    New Latin aesthēticusbor.
    French esthétiqueder.
    English aestheticbor.
    Spanish aesthetic

      Unadapted borrowing from English aesthetic, from German Ästhetik or French esthétique, both from New Latin aesthēticus, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós, “of sense perception”), from αἰσθάνομαι (aisthánomai, “to feel”) Doublet of estética and estético.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /aesˈtetik/ [a.esˈt̪e.t̪ik]
      • Rhymes: -etik
      • Syllabification: a‧es‧the‧tic

      Adjective

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      aesthetic (invariable)

      1. (Internet slang) Aesthetically pleasing. (clarification of this definition is needed (what is it used for? is it used for everything?)) [from 2021]

      Usage notes

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      According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

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