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I recall that "spectacles" would be the preferred word when I was growing up. It was often shortened to "specs".

"Glasses" were the ones you wore either in the sun (sunglasses) or while driving or to protect your eyes from wind or dust. "Glasses" were never the ones you wore because of a weak eyesight.

However, nowadays, I see people using "glasses" for all sorts of eyewear whether it's for eyesight (what we used to call "spectacles") or for the sun or wind/dust. I am curious how this change happened. Is it because "spectacles" is UK English and the popularisation of US English led to more usage of "glasses"? Or is it something else. Thanks!

Madhur
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    In my long lifetime in the UK _spectacles_ and _glasses_ (short for _eyeglasses_) have always both been in common use, with _spectacles_ sounding a bit more formal. We frequently refer to 'reading glasses'. – Kate Bunting Dec 11 '21 at 09:37
  • When I was very little I was fascinated by the mynah bird who was exhibited in a cage outside a local pet shop. Why he saw me, he invariably squawked, in a Cockney accent, 'Got yer glasses on?' – Michael Harvey Dec 11 '21 at 10:34
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    I agree with Kate. In my UK childhood, 'glasses' could always be used instead of 'spectacles', but not always vice-versa (e.g. you don't say 'sun-spectacles'.) – Michael Harvey Dec 11 '21 at 10:37
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    If you call them 'gig-lamps' you run the risk of being misunderstood, I have found. – Michael Harvey Dec 11 '21 at 10:38
  • @MichaelWokeHarvey: I would interpret "gig lamp" as "a lamp that is used in a [gig](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gig), such as for lighting a stage or similar," but I would not use such a phrase myself because it sounds weird to me. – Kevin Dec 11 '21 at 21:54
  • @Kevin - you have to be British or have read a lot of older British novels. _Gig-lamps in British English PLURAL NOUN an old-fashioned slang term for spectacles (Collins Dictionary); gig in British English NOUN 1. a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage without a hood. (Collins Dictionary)_ Not seen much since about 1900 to 1910 because of the development of automobiles. Used to have two big lamps. one on each side. – Michael Harvey Dec 11 '21 at 22:00

1 Answers1

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To my ears, "spectacles" sounds rather dated. "Glasses" would be my preferred term for both corrective and protective eye wear.

Cambridge dictionary marks "spectacles" as old fashioned, and I'm inclined to agree. The casual abbreviation "specs" might be less old fashioned, in casual conversation.

The evidence from ngrams is equivocal, as it is biased by the other meanings of "spectacle" (and "glasses")

Examining "his glasses" (ngrams) to filter other senses suggests that spectacles was more popular than glasses in the 19th century. In the USA "glasses" was slightly more popular in the 20th century, in British English, both terms were roughly equally popular.

In the 21st century there has been a remarkable growth in the use of the term "his glasses", especially in the UK, but also in the USA, though over a longer period of time.

There is little evidence of much difference between US and UK usage. In fact the changes in the relative popularity of "spectacles" and "glasses" on both sides of the Atlantic seems to be correlated. The change from "spectacles" to "glasses" seems to have been one of those erratic shifts in language which occur for no clear reason

James K
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    no clear reason besides spectacles having more syllables, and sounding more posh (= derived from a romantic rather than a germanic root) - the idea being "posh" words being suited less for everyday conversation – somebody Dec 12 '21 at 06:57
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    adding a possessor first (e.g. "his spectacles", "his glasses") will eliminate many of the other senses. It lets you see that in the US glasses overtook spectacles around 1905, whilst in the UK the two were similarly common between around 1915 & 1960, with glasses only becoming the more popular then. It makes sense that people would perceive a US/UK difference even if spectacles is no old fashioned today. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=his+spectacles%2Chis+glasses&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=29&smoothing=3 – Tristan Dec 12 '21 at 10:30
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    Having lived on both sides of the pond it's been my observation that you do still hear "spectacles" occasionally in contemporary conversation in the UK. In North America, though, it's almost unheard of. – J... Dec 12 '21 at 13:38
  • @Tristan, your google-fu is strong! Do you want to write that up as an answer yourself? – James K Dec 12 '21 at 14:27
  • nah, the bones of the answer is good, I think it makes more sense as an edit – Tristan Dec 12 '21 at 14:32
  • It seems to me that "specs" is rather informal, almost to the point of slang. I think of it as some person trying to sound cool, but also maybe sounds outdated. – trlkly Dec 12 '21 at 19:20
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    As a Brit, the full word "spectacles" is old-fashioned, but "specs" is perfectly normal. In a similar way, no-one in Britain talks about a "refrigerator" or a "horseless carriage", they talk about a "fridge" and a "car". The abbreviations have become the standard, and using the full name is old-fashioned. – Graham Dec 13 '21 at 10:29
  • @Graham Old-fashioned in some contexts, but it's not uncommon to find even internet shops selling glasses in the UK with copy that reads like *"Huge stock of spectacles, frames and lenses."* (while automotive dealers, by contrast, would never refer to a car as a *'horseless carriage'*). It's still there and alive in more formal corners of the living language. In North America such usages simply do not exist. – J... Dec 13 '21 at 20:31