victoriousvocabulary:

THEORIA

[noun]

Theoria (θεωρία) is Greek for contemplation. It corresponds to the Latin word contemplation: “looking at”, “gazing at”, “being aware of”. It is this term from which the English word “theory” is derived, meaning: “contemplation”, “speculation”, “looking at”, “things looked at”, from theorein (θεωρεῖν): “to consider, speculate, look at”, from theoros (θεωρός): “spectator”, from thea (θέα): “a view” + horan (ὁρᾶν): “to see”. It expressed the state of being a spectator - both Greek θεωρία and Latin contemplatio primarily meant looking at things, whether with the eyes or with the mind.