Daily periodical published in London by Richard Steele and Joseph Addison from March 1, 1711, to Dec. 6, 1712, and revived by Addison in 1714 (for 80 issues). It succeeded The Tatler, launched by Steele in 1709. Aiming to "enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality," The Spectator presented a fictional club whose imaginary members expressed the writers' ideas about society. It made serious discussion of letters and politics a normal pastime of the leisured class, set the pattern and established the vogue for the periodical in the 18th century, and helped create a receptive public for novelists
A spectator is someone who watches something, especially a sporting event. Thirty thousand spectators watched the final game. a magazine which contains articles about politics, important events, and the arts. There are separate British and US magazines called The Spectator. The magazine was started in the UK in 1711, by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele. someone who is watching an event or game audience (spectare , from specere )
a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind); "the spectators applauded the performance"; "television viewers"; "sky watchers discovered a new star"