Scenic means offering beautiful natural views. A scenic route, scenic views, scenic drive.
The scenic route is the longer prettier way, and taking it is a standing joke for going the long way round whether by choice or not. Scenic overlook and scenic viewpoint are the signposted versions. The older sense is theatrical — scenic design is the design of stage sets — and that is what the Greek word originally meant, from skene, the stage building. Note scenery.
1adjectivescenicOffering beautiful natural views.
“We stopped the car at a scenic spot overlooking the lake.”
2adjectivestageTo do with stage scenery.
“The scenic designer built a whole forest on the stage out of paper.”
scenic is a quality of views.
Also accepted in games: picturesque
Greek skenikos means theatrical, from skene, the hut at the back of a stage. Scene, scenario and proscenium come from the same stage building.
Ancient Greek
σκηνικός — theatrical
Latin
scēnicus
Middle French
scénique
English, today
scenic
Built from
From Middle French scénique, from Latin scēnicus, alternative form of scaenicus (“of or pertaining to the stage; theatrical, scenic”), from Ancient Greek σκηνικός (“theatrical”), from σκηνή (“stage”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA