aspect

Etymology

From Middle English aspect, from Latin aspectus (“look, sight; appearance”), from aspiciō (“see; catch sight of; inspect”), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + speciō (“look, look at, behold; observe”).

noun

1. Any specific feature, part, or element of something.
   Japan's aging population is an important aspect of its economy.
2. The way something appears when viewed from a certain direction or perspective.
   Given the limitations of planar representation[…] The painter is constantly forced to choose one aspect over the other. 1991, William Dunning, Changing Images of Pictorial Space: A History of Spatial Illusion in Painting, page 36
3. The way something appears when considered from a certain point of view.
   “Perspective” can be understood in different ways. It can mean a single aspect from which something is considered or evaluated; it can also mean a view from a relation between aspects of a subject. 2016, Chenyang Li, “Care and justice: Reading Mencius, Kant, and Gilligan comparatively”, in Ann A. Pang-White, editor, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Chinese Philosophy and Gender, page 128
4. A phase or a partial, but significant view or description of something.
5. One's appearance or expression.
   By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect. 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
   It is Stephen Gardiner, black and scowling, his aspect in no way improved by his trip to Rome. 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, page 145
6. Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass.
   The house has a southern aspect, i.e. a position which faces the south.
7. Prospect; outlook.
8. (grammar) A grammatical quality of a verb which determines the relationship of the speaker to the internal temporal flow of the event which the verb describes, or whether the speaker views the event from outside as a whole, or from within as it is unfolding.
9. (astrology) The relative position of heavenly bodies as they appear to an observer on earth; the angular relationship between points in a horoscope.
   Kepler (the Lyncæus of the laſt Age) defines an Aſpect in this manner: Aſpectus eſt Angulus à Radiis Luminoſis binorum Planetarum in terra formatus, efficax ad ſtimulandum naturam ſublunarem. It is (ſaith he) an Angle made in the Earth by the Luminous Beams of two Planets, of ſtrength to ſtir up the vertue of all ſublunary things. 1683, George Wharton, “Of the Planetary Aspects, both Old and New, their Characters, and Æquations”, in John Gadbury, editor, The Works of that Late Most Excellent Philosopher and Astronomer, Sir George Wharton, Bar[onet]. Collected into One Entire Volume, London: Printed by H. H. for John Leigh, at Stationers Hall, →OCLC, page 90
10. (religion, mythology) The personified manifestation of a deity that represents one or more of its characteristics or functions.
    The Mother Goddess in her many manifestations is termed Shakti, the female energy in creation, and worshipped as the supreme female aspect of Brahman. 1995, V.P. Kanitkar, W. Owen Cole, Hinduism — An Introduction
11. (obsolete) The act of looking at something; gaze.
12. (obsolete) Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view.
    1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth Vol 1, Chapter IX. They are both in my judgment the image or picture of a great Ruine, and have the true aspect of a World lying in its rubbish.
13. (programming) In aspect-oriented programming, a feature or component that can be applied to parts of a program independent of any inheritance hierarchy.
14. (rail transport) The visual indication of a colour light (or mechanical) signal as displayed to the driver. With colour light signals this would be red, yellow or green.
    The whole of the main lines to be electrified were being equipped with four-aspect colour-light signals, automatically operated, where appropriate, and spaced to give a 5min headway throughout. 1961 December, “Planning the London Midland main-line electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 719
    SWR [South Western Railway] said the move was a precautionary measure, understood to relate to electromagnetic emissions from the fleet causing changes of signal aspect in front of moving trains. 2019 October, “'442s' withdrawn due to signal interaction issues”, in Modern Railways, page 87

verb

1. (astrology, of a planet) To have a particular aspect or type of aspect.
2. (Wicca) To channel a divine being.
3. (obsolete) To look at.