WHAT A SPECTACLE!

On the lighter side!

Glasses? Eyeglasses? Spectacles? What’s the difference? Well, it seems that the answer lies in both the country and the time in which you are living. Historically, eye glasses were eyewear with no side bars or temples, while spectacles had temples. In Italy in the 15th century, spectacles were sold in the markets; the client would try on various pairs and choose the one that seemed to best suit his needs.

In America, the term most commonly used is eyeglasses. The word spectacles is regarded as old-fashioned and sometimes even humorous. In some circles in Britain, an eye glass is a small telescope, and eyewear is called glasses or sometimes specs. In South Africa, we use the terms glasses (NOT eyeglasses) and spectacles interchangeably, although sometimes a distinction is made between spectacles (which are fitted with prescription lenses) and glasses (a more general term including sun glasses, reading glasses, etc). Goggles, although strictly speaking refer to protective eyewear, is a term often used in a negative or derogatory sense.