Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SPECTRUM

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pronounce SPECTRUM: Say it "SPECK trum." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Literally speaking, a spectrum is a full range of visible colors, and a g___t is a full range of musical notes. Figuratively speaking, either can be a full range of anything! (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)     definition: "Spectrum" comes straight from Latin, where it means "an image, or an appearance." You can trace it back further to specere, meaning "to look at." In English, hundreds of years ago, "spectrum" first meant "a ghost: something that suddenly appears." (It doesn't mean that anymore, but "specter" does.) And it also grew to mean "any image that appears." That's the meaning that Isaac Newton probably had in mind in 1672 when, after directing sunlight through a prism, he referred to the band of rainbow colors as "this coloured Spectrum." This specific meaning caught on. Since then, "spectrum" has meant "a band of colored light." Notice how the spectrum can seem like it's made up of six or seven distinct colors, but once you start looking closer, it's really an infinite amount of colors. Move left or right a few nanometers, and you've got a slightly different shade. So, since 1936 or so--nope, I don't know why it took us that long to get figurative--"spectrum" has also meant "a wide, orderly range of things." grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "It's a spectrum, not an either-or." "We're on opposite ends of that spectrum." Other forms:  The plural is "spectra." Or, if you prefer a more relaxed one, "spectrums." If you need an adjective, I suggest just using "spectrum" itself, as in "spectrum analysis" and "spectrum disorders." The official adjective, "spectral," presents a problem because it also means "ghostly." how to use it: "Spectrum" is a formal, very common word that helps us compare things to a rainbow of varying colors. That is, it helps us emphasize that a certain quality or label isn't just black or white: that it comes in many, many fine shades, possibly infinite shades, which we can visualize as a single continuous line or axis, stretching from left to right. For example, we refer to autism as a spectrum disorder, because its symptoms can range from extremely mild to extremely severe. And, when we talk about the political spectrum, we're emphasizing that any individual person isn't just "Democrat" or "Republican" but someone whose values fall somewhere along that line between the two. Because we think of a spectrum as a long two-dimensional line, we talk about a spectrum stretching, spanning, or running from one point to another, and we talk about things and people falling on some place, point, or end of a spectrum. Lastly, I'll recommend that if you're talking about some quality or label that extends along two axes--not just horizontal but also vertical--then the word you probably want is "compass" rather than "spectrum." examples: "The bus was packed with a motley group of men and women who represented the spectrum of ages, neighborhoods, backstories, and motivations."    — Wes Moore, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, 2010    "I thought of the great spectrum of The Mecca—black people from Belize, black people with Jewish mothers, black people with fathers from Bangalore, black people from Toronto and Kingston, black people who spoke Russian, who spoke Spanish, who played Mongo Santamaría, who understood mathematics and sat up in bone labs, unearthing the mysteries of the enslaved."    — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me, 2015 has this page helped you understand "spectrum"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "spectrum" without saying "broad range" or "full variety." try it out: Robin Benway's novel Far From the Tree tells the story of Maya, an adopted teen. When she's asked a yes-or-no question ("Do you think about your birth mother?"), she answers "Yes," but privately thinks that the true answer is "every single color in a rainbow spectrum." Talk about what she means. Could you also think of another yes-or-no question whose true answer spans an entire spectrum? Mine would be, from when I was a teenager, "Did you have a great time at summer camp?" If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for this month: MYP Anagrams! Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. For example, if I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Try this one today: Rearrange the letters in MOANER to make a verb.  To peek at the clues, highlight the hidden white text below.    The definition is… to inspire people with love, or to fascinate them or charm them.    The first letter is… E. review this word: 1. A near-opposite of SPECTRUM is A. CLEAR-CUT CATEGORY. B. FLESH-AND-BLOOD ENTITY (thing or person). C. MAKEWEIGHT (something that does little else but fill a gap). 2. By definition, broad-spectrum sunscreen _____. A. makes you look like a portly cartoon ghost B. stays on even if you sweat profusely or go swimming C. protects you from the full array of harmful UV beams Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. C Answer to the game question: Enamor. To enamor people is to inspire them with love, to fascinate them, or to charm them. a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.