retrospectn.adj.
/ˈrɛtrəspɛkt/, U.S. /ˈrɛtrəˌspɛk(t)/ A. n.
1.
a. A regard or reference to some existing fact, authority, or precedent. Also as a mass noun and without construction. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > [noun] > basis of testimony, authority > appeal to
retrospect1601
reference1799
1601 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 36 The cause [of this war] hath a retrospect to the first times of the Romane monarchie.
1602 W. Fulbecke Parallele or Conf. Law i. 58 In euerie action the iudgement hath a retrospect to the original.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 235 They..so continued, untill these times of Henry the Eighth, wherein they have a Retrospect to the Rock, from whence they were first hewen.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. (new ed.) I. 168 They explained everything by the language in use; without the least retrospect or allowance.
1799 R. Kirwan Geol. Ess. 2 The latter cannot be properly understood without a retrospect to the former.
1844 Queen's Regulations & Orders Army 3 In case two Commissions of the same date interfere, a retrospect is to be had to former Commissions.
1895 R. Phillimore Eccl. Law (ed. 2) I. 320 And these words of the Canon..seem to have some reference or retrospect to that determination.
1909 Eng. Rep. XCIV. 161 The present indictment was founded upon the Statute of 2 & 3 Phil. & Mar. and those statutes have no retrospect to former laws.
b. Law. A retroactive effect; application to past time. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [noun] > application or operation with regard to past time
retrospection1650
retrospect1662
retroaction1728
retroactivity1829
1662 G. Downing in G. Carew Fraud & Violence Discovered 51 He would not press any further Retrospect then 1654. as to matters out of the East-Indies, and 1659. for matters in the East-Indies.
1683 J. Bulteel tr. F. E. de Mézeray Gen. Chronol. Hist. France 649 Seeing it was founded upon the Law of God, it should have a retroactive effect, or retrospect.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Retroactive We have some Instances of Laws that have a Retrospect, or Retroaction, i. e. were made with express Design to extend to things already pass'd.
1793 N. Chipman Rep. & Diss. i. 75 The deed given in February, 1762..becomes good from the date by retrospect.
1844 N.-Y. Legal Observer Mar. 15/1 It would be very unreasonable to put such a construction upon the act, as should make it have a retrospect to invalidate and nullify contracts and agreements that were lawful at the time when they were made.
1891 Northeastern Reporter 26 1015/2 The act of 1875 limited the inquiry to a retrospect of four years.
1917 C. L. Thompson Rose's Notes U.S. Supreme Court Rep. I. (rev. ed.) 64 It is..the established rule that a law should have no retrospect.
2.
a. The action or an act of contemplating the past, esp. with reference to one's own life or experience; retrospection.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > [noun] > instance of > survey
review1611
revision1619
retrospect1626
retrospection1661
recherche du temps perdu1932
1626 H. Parrot Cures for Itch sig. E6 Drusus not deignes the least of retrospect On these rude rimes, he doth so much reiect.
1678 R. L'Estrange tr. Of Happy Life xix. 249 in Seneca's Morals Abstracted (1679) The Passage of Time is wonderfully quick, and a Man must look Backward to see it: and in that Retro-spect, he has all past Ages at a View.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 374. ⁋1 To sit still and throw away the Time in our Possession, by Retrospect on what is past.
1775 S. Johnson Let. 3 July (1992) II. 237 Our gay prospects have..ended in melancholy retrospects.
1807 Salmagundi 14 Aug. 269 This, of all others, is the most auspicious moment..for indulging in a retrospect.
1856 B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. (ed. 3) I. iv. 132 The hopes and fears connected with the retrospect of a well-spent or ill-spent life.
1939 ‘F. O'Brien’ At Swim-Two-Birds 132 He pursed his lips in the exercise of a retrospect across the years.
1961 Land Econ. 37 296/1 With retrospect,..it might appear that their Cassandra voices crying doom have been more loud than enlightening.
2003 J. M. L. Drew Dickens the Journalist viii. 154 A wistful retrospect of the family expedition to Genoa.
b. A survey or review of past acts or events, esp. with reference to a particular subject or sphere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [noun] > review of some past course of events
aftercasta1393
retrospect1659
retrospection1753
1659 J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. Pref. sig. bv Finding those proceedings to have their rise in the Year 1618..I resolved that very Instant should be the Ne plus ultra of my Retrospect.
1663 A. Marvell Let. 19 May in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 36 The Committee..was orderd to continue the retrospect to all [offices] that haue bin sold since 24th June 1660.
1776 Remembrancer 3 154 Without such a retrospect it will not be easy to enter into the true spirit of this exquisite politico-literary performance.
1787 J. Barlow Oration July 4th 4 A modest retrospect of the truly dignified part already acted by our countrymen.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 571 If this little tract were drawn up by a common hand,..we should not have introduced it into our Retrospect.
1865 H. Phillips Amer. Paper Currency II. 136 A short retrospect is now necessary to view what Congress determined upon.
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 96/1 Then for the first time the music reverts to the primary key for a retrospect of the entire matter of the first part.
1907 Times 8 Nov. 3/2 To understand thoroughly the significance of the position to-day a brief retrospect is necessary.
1974 Gramophone Nov. 858/1 This is the first of RCA's retrospects of Rachmaninov's recorded output.
2002 P. Hunting Hist. Royal Soc. Med. v. 168 Sir Richard Douglas Powell went on to give a retrospect of the Society's achievement in promoting medical science.
c. in retrospect: when looking back; with hindsight.
ΚΠ
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 232 Short as in retrospect the journey seems, It seem'd not always short.
1818 G. Canning in Late Elections 186 Prediction which, in prospect, it would have been presumptuous to dispute, but which, in retrospect, it is now pleasant to contemplate.
1867 A. H. Hoge Boys in Blue vii. 121 The men, strange to say, were made comfortable. In retrospect this is difficult to comprehend.
1933 S. Walker Night Club Era 117 In retrospect these lads would appear not as bruisers, loft-thieves, pickpockets and what not, but as good-hearted lads full of the spirit of fun and horseplay.
1960 J. F. Lehman I am my Brother I. 17 The decade we had been through seemed to me in retrospect a period where promising beginnings had failed again and again.
1993 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 198/1 In retrospect, I quite understand why the girls fell for him.
3.
a. A backward glance. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > [noun] > view or scenery > from or towards back
retrospect1675
retrospective1789
1675 R. Allestree Art Contentm. v. 99 Every impious act would like the prohibited retrospect of Lots Wife, fix us perpetual monuments of divine vengeance.
1766 T. Blacklock in J. Beattie Poems Several Subj. (new ed.) 134 Yet to the darling object of my heart A short but pleasing retrospect I dart.
1911 M. Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson i. 10 Noaks..had stopped for an ardent retrospect. He gazed till the landau was out of his short sight.
b. A view or prospect lying behind a person. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1723 A. Pope Let. May in Sel. Lett. (2000) xcviii. 162 The edge of Immortality..where you ought to despise all little views, and all mean retrospects.
1797 J. M'Nayr Guide from Glasgow 246 From the windows of a pavilion..you have a grand view of this fall, and a retrospect of the village and mills of New Lanark.
a1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. & N.-Y. (1821) II. 152 At the South-Eastern extremity of this farm, we had a new, and very interesting, retrospect of these mountains.
1880 J. Maggs Round Europe with Crowd xvii. 220 A beautiful retrospect of Nice and its surroundings.
1908 Baedeker's Spain & Portugal (ed. 3) vi. 366 We cross several brooks, with a retrospect, to the left, of the Sierra Nevada.
2005 J. Barnes Arthur & George 114 As the tram ascends, and afterwards descends, they have a fine retrospect of the town and of Cardigan Bay.
B. adj.
Directed or referring to the past; retrospective.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [adjective] > operating retrospectively
retroactive1611
retrospect1709
ex post facto1789
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xxxix. 406 This letter of Mr. Fox, affording a pleasant retrospect view of the Queen's reign hitherto.
1709 Tatler No. 67. ⁋2 My Jurisdiction, which extends not only to Futurity, but also is retrospect to Things past.
1755 Monitor No. 20 I. 175 Nor can any one shew me how this clause can be said to be retrospect.
1804 J. Collins Scripscrapologia 171 Could we boast Pre-existence, and retrospect Sight.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 7 Oct. 2/1 The hint..that the liking is due to the glamour of the retrospect view.
1918 Marquette Law Rev. 2 80 All reason is retrospect; it consists in the application of facts and principles previously known.
1940 Times 6 June 3/3 He would not hesitate to ask for further powers, with retrospect effect if necessary, to protect the tax from avoidance.
2005 H. L. Platt Shock Cities xii. 420 The LGB seemed more retrospect in its insistence on land filtration as the only way to solve the problem.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
retrospectv.
/ˈrɛtrəspɛkt/, U.S. /ˈrɛtrəˌspɛk(t)/ 1.
a. intransitive. To engage in retrospection; to contemplate past events.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > look back, retrospect [verb (intransitive)] > indulge in reminiscences
retrospect1659
reminisce1880
reminiscence1890
1659 T. Burton Diary 25 Mar. (1828) IV. 272 I came hither with a resolution not to retrospect.
1664 J. Heath Chron. Late Intestine War i. 78 We must retrospect a little, lest the hurrying of the War carry us from other remarkables.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa II. xxxv. 236 If I could not thus retrospect and argue.
1799 Llewellin I. ii. 43 Blanche anticipated probable consequences, and framed her actions accordingly; but Emma first performed, and then retrospected.
1848 Friend 8 Jan. 126/1 In the present day of deep degeneracy, it will not hurt any of us to retrospect.
1863 Brit. Controversialist 3rd Ser. 276 Had he adopted another method..,—had he retrospected,—he would have found that democracy was the ancestor of monarchy.
1901 L. P. Looney Tennessee Sketches 320 I have been retrospecting, too,..and there is one scene that will never leave my memory.
1993 R. T. Hurlburt Sampling Inner Experience in Disturbed Affect v. 79 These emotions..were observed to be present only when she retrospected.
b. intransitive. To look back to an earlier time; to reflect on. Also with upon, about.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > look back, retrospect [verb (intransitive)]
to look backward?c1450
to look back1529
to look backwards1598
recoila1616
retrospect1664
run1692
revert1820
reverie1832
to think back (on or to)1901
to job backwards1907
1664 J. Heath Chron. Late Intestine War iv. f. 768 I must now a little retrospect to what passed at home in the Parliament and Kingdome.
1668 W. Penn Guide Mistaken i. 5 I retrospect upon that time I once imploy'd in a conversation with Books.
1764 ‘G. Psalmanazar’ Memoirs 65 To retrospect with shame and remorse on a life so basely spent.
1800 A. Hamilton Let. conc. Public Conduct J. Adams 4 To give a correct idea of the circumstances.., it may be useful to retrospect to an early period.
1857 H. C. Knight Life James Montgomery x. 181 ‘By two o'clock,’ says one, sadly retrospecting on his fallen greatness, ‘when he should have been in attendance at the Royal Institution, he was too often unable to rise from his bed.’
1921 Santa Fe Mag. Jan. 90/2 What a most enjoyable pleasure it is to sit and listen to some of the railroad oldtimers retrospect on their early days of railroading.
1994 R. T. Kellogg Psychol. of Writing (1999) iii. 52 The writers are interrupted..and prompted to retrospect about what they were just thinking.
2000 L. Senelick Changing Room xvi. 433 Performances retrospected wistfully to the performers' childhoods.
2. transitive. To contemplate (some past time or event); to look back on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > look back on [verb (transitive)]
refera1398
to look back1579
review1597
retrospect1664
retrace1686
to take back1796
reverie1961
1664 J. Heath Chron. Late Intestine War iii. f. 647 It is very necessary to look first homewards, and retrospect the elapst sitting down of Olivers Juncto at Westminster.
1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 161 The Matters, by Way of Inquisition retrospected, are reducible to two Heads.
1748 S. Richardson Corr. (1804) IV. 232 We find this to be true by retrospecting that part of it we have passed over.
1804 ‘E. de Acton’ Tale without Title I. 156 Whenever I retrospect this circumstance, my mind is too full to make any comments.
1815 Zeluca II. 1 The envy that always ensued from retrospecting those pleasures that had failed in promised enjoyment.
1896 J. Lumsden Poems 52 Morosely, by a glowing fire I retrospect the babble.
1920 D. W. La Rue Psychol. for Teachers ii. xvi. 279 By retrospecting my childhood I can bring back many an event lost to me for years.
1993 D. G. Schultenover View from Rome 7 Martín did not live long enough to retrospect the crucial years of the modernist crisis.
Derivatives
ˈretrospecting adj.
ΚΠ
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxviii. 413 Would perhaps have thought it derogatory..to my present Station, and too much retrospecting to my former.
1839 Calcutta Christian Observer Jan. 43 The terrible scrutiny of a retrospecting conscience.
1902 W. Cunningham in A. W. Ward et al. Cambr. Mod. Hist. I. xv. 529 It is worth while..to cast a retrospecting glance at some of the places which had been distanced in the race for wealth.
1989 C. Bernheimer Figures of Ill Repute v. 148 The romantic phrases the retrospecting lovers exchange..serve to incorporate and structure loss.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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