A.Word.A.Day--perspicuous

[msesheta]

Wordsmith.org

The Magic of Words

Aug 31, 2011

This week's theme
Miscellaneous words

This week's words
recondite
cicatrize
perspicuous

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

perspicuous

PRONUNCIATION:

(puhr-SPIK-yoo-uhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Clearly expressed; easy to understand.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin perspicuus (transparent), from perspicere (to see through), from per- (through) + -spicere, combining form of specere (to look). Ultimately from the Indo-European root spek- (to observe), which is also the ancestor of such words as suspect, spectrum, bishop (literally, overseer), espionage, despise, telescope, spectator, speculum, and spectacles. Earliest documented use: 1570.

USAGE:

"HAND also offers the most informed and perspicuous account of the political violence."
Darfur Humanitarian Update; Sudan Tribune (Paris, France); Sep 1, 2010.

"We can see exactly what's going on, though the people involved can't. We get a wonderfully perspicuous view of somebody else's confusion."
Tom Lubbock; Great Works; The Independent (London, UK); Jun 13, 2008.

Explore "perspicuous" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

For sleep, riches and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted. - Jean Paul Richter, writer (1763-1825)

Books by Anu Garg

© 2011 Wordsmith.org