Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
PERSPECTIVE
I. noun see: per-
Date: 14th century
an optical glass (as a telescope),
II. noun see: prospect
Date: 1563
1. the technique or process of representing on a plane or curved surface the spatial relation of objects as they might appear to the eye, a picture in perspective,
2. the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed , the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance ,
3. a visible scene, a mental view or prospect , the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distance and positions, perspectival adjective
III. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, optical, from Medieval Latin perspectivus
Date: 1570
aiding the vision , of, relating to, employing, or seen in perspective , perspectively adverb