perspicuous

English

Etymology

From Latin perspicuus, in turn from perspiciō (“see through”).

Adjective

perspicuous (comparative more perspicuous, superlative most perspicuous)

1. Clearly expressed, easy to understand; lucid.
   • 1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Book I, Chapter 4,

     I am always willing to run some hazard of being tedious in order to be sure that I am perspicuous;

2. (logic) Of a language or notation, such as that of formal propositional calculus: where the process of inference from premises to conclusion is explicitly laid out.
3. (rare) Transparent; translucent.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989

Antonyms

• imperspicuous

Derived terms

Derived terms

perspicuously

perspicuousness

Related terms

Related terms

perspicuity perspicacious perspicaciously

perspicacity perspective

Translations

clearly expressed

Chinese: Mandarin: 明白 (zh) (mingbai) Dutch: duidelijk (nl), begrijpelijk (nl), klaar (nl) Greek: σαφής (el) (saphés)

Korean: 명백한 (ko) (myeongbaekhan) Latin: perspicuus (la) m., perspicua (la) f., perspicuum (la) n. Spanish: perspicuo (es) m., perspicua (es) f.

logic: explicitly laid out