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.
English - Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: pər'spĭkyo͞oʹĭti, IPA(key): /ˌpəːspɪˈkjuːɪti/
- (US) enPR: pər'spəkyo͞oʹədi, IPA(key): /ˌpɚspəˈkjuədi/
English - Noun
perspicuity (countable and uncountable, plural perspicuities)
- Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
- Perspicacity; insight.
- (rare) Transparency; translucence.
Synonyms
Related terms
English - References
- “perspicuity” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]
- “perspicuity, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [draft revision; Mar. 2010]
- “perspicuity” in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
- perspicuity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- “perspicuity” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- "perspicuity" in Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
- Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.