retrospect meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

retrospect

noun

CA, US, UK /ˈɹɛtɹəˌspɛkt/ · AU, NZ /ˈɹetɹəˌspekt/

Etymology Borrowed from Latin retrōspectum, from retrōspicio (“to look back at”), equivalent to retro- + -spect. Compare review.

Consideration of past times.

My mind, calmer and stronger now than last night, made for itself some imperious rules, prohibiting under deadly penalties all weak retrospect of happiness past; commanding a patient journeying through the wilderness of the present...1853, Charlotte Bronte, Villette:
Whether, like Colin, in retrospect Willie Lee and Baptist would feel that what has vanished was greater than what was achieved, is not something we can predict.1976, Terry Kay, The Year the Lights Came On, University of Georgia Press, published 1989, →ISBN, page 298:

verb

Etymology Borrowed from Latin retrōspectum, from retrōspicio (“to look back at”), equivalent to retro- + -spect. Compare review.

To look or refer back to; to reflect on.

To give a correct idea of the circumstances which have gradually produced this conviction, it may be useful to retrospect to an early period.1800 October 24, Alexander Hamilton, “Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States”, in Harold C. Syrett, editor, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, volumes 25, July 1800 – April 1802, New York: Columbia University Press, published 1962, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 187:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.