onlooker
/ˈɔnlʊkə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.31 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker."
- "And as thei iudge of cheſe, ſo iudge thei of bokes. / On lokers on whiche, who that narowly lokes, / Maie loke for this: […]"
- "[T]hough his spirits seemed strung up to a high pitch, his merriment was more the merriment of a cynical and amused onlooker than of one who responds to the gaiety of his companions."
- "When the right-away was given, Driver Gibson would give a sonorous blast on Cardean's deep-toned hooter, and amid a flurry of swirling steam the train would move majestically out, with nearly half the city of Carlisle—or so it would appear—as onlookers on the platform."
- "As a result, while the train was being shunted at Bombay, the buffers became locked, producing a situation most intriguing for the onlookers, but exasperating for the exalted passengers and the unhappy railway authorities."
- "Please allow me to adjust my pants / So that I may dance the good time dance / And put the onlookers and innocent bystanders into a trance"
Etymology
Etymology tree English on- Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn Old English lōcian Middle English loken English look Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English looker English onlooker From on- (prefix meaning ‘at; on, upon’) + looker (“one that looks”), from the verb look on. Compare Old English onlōciend (“one who looks on or watches”), which did not survive into Middle English; forlookere was used in the latter language.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɔnlʊkə/
- British English: /ˈɒnˌlʊkə/