Two Latin verbs about the eyes stand behind this whole family. specere means to look (you hear it in inspect and spectator), and videre means to see (you hear it in video and vision). In English the first shows up as spec, spic or spect, and the second as vid or vis.
Key idea
spec, spic, spect = look. vid, vis = see. Ask where the looking goes: around (circumspect), inward (introspective), back (retrospect), through (perspicacious), ahead (provident).
A root is a clue, not a rule: specious comes from the Latin word for appearance, so a specious claim only looks right. Check every root against the sentence the word sits in.
The ten words
The roots at work
Common mistake
specious sounds like "special" or "spacious" but means falsely convincing. perspicacious (sharp-minded) describes a person; perspicuous (clearly expressed) describes writing.
| word | where the looking goes | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| circumspect | around | careful about risks |
| introspective | inward | looking at your own thoughts |
| retrospect | back | a look at the past |
| perspicacious | through | sharp-minded |
| provident | ahead | planning for the future |
| envision | into the mind | to picture |
Look-alikes: specious (falsely convincing) is not special or spacious. Perspicacious (sharp-minded, said of a person) is not perspicuous (clear, said of writing).