spectacle

Etymology

From Middle English spectacle, from French spectacle, from Latin spectāculum (“a show, spectacle”), from spectō (“to see, behold”), frequentative of speciō (“to see”). See species.

noun

1. An exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc.
   The horse race was a thrilling spectacle.
   22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Gameshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/ In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay.
2. An embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation.
   He made a spectacle out of himself.
3. (usually in the plural) glasses (instrument used to assist vision)
4. (obsolete) A spyglass; a looking-glass.
5. The brille of a snake.
6. (rail transport) A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm.