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perspicuity. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
From the Classical Latin perspicuitās (“transparency”, “lucidity”, “self-evidency”, (in post-Classical Latin): “penetration”, “insight”), from perspicuus (“clear”, “evident”); compare perspicacity and the French perspicuité. By surface analysis, perspicuous + -ity.
Pronunciation
Noun
perspicuity (countable and uncountable, plural perspicuities)
- Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
1880, [George] Bernard Shaw, chapter XVIII, in The Irrational Knot Being the Second Novel of His Nonage, London: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1905, →OCLC, page 354:[…] whether through the first officer's want of perspicuity or my own stupidity, I was not a bit the wiser for the explanation.
- Perspicacity; insight.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 51:“Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
1965 March 19, “The Stupid Spy”, in Time:Thompson, a high school dropout, said with rare perspicuity that he doubted the FBI would hire him.
- (rare) Transparency; translucence.
1900, Edith Wharton, chapter 11, in The Touchstone:It must have been on some such day of harsh sunlight, the incisive February brightness that gives perspicuity without warmth.
Synonyms
References
- “perspicuity” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary
- “perspicuity, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary
- perspicuity in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
- “perspicuity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “perspicuity”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- "perspicuity" in Encarta® World English Dictionary © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
- Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.