spectrum
/spektr m/ • noun (pl. spectra /spektr/) 1 a band of colours produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction, e.g. in a rainbow. 2 the entire range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. 3 a characteristic series of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by a substance. 4 the components of a sound or other phenomenon arranged according to frequency, energy, etc. 5 a scale extending between two points; a range: the political spectrum. — ORIGIN Latin, ‘image, apparition’, from specere ‘to look’.
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