Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: Latin spectaculum, from spectare; SPECTATOR

spectacle

 noun
     
spec‧ta‧cle [countable]
1 a very impressive show or scene:
a multimedia dance and opera spectacle
2 [usually singular] an unusual or interesting thing or situation that you see or notice - used especially in order to show disapproval:
The trial was turned into a public spectacle.
spectacle of
the spectacle of drunken young men on the streets
spectacle
3

spectacles

[plural] formal or old-fashioned glasses that help you see
4

make a spectacle of yourself

to behave in an embarrassing way that is likely to make other people notice you and laugh at you
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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