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Added 9 October 2026

onlooker

/ˈɒnˌlʊkə/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about onlooker at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

One who looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating; an observer, a spectator.
I wasn’t involved in the fight; I was only an onlooker.

Origin

From on- (prefix meaning ‘at; on, upon’) + looker (“one that looks”), from the verb look on. Compare Old English onlōciend (“one who looks on or watches”), which did not survive into Middle English; forlookere was used in the latter language.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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