English
perspicuity
Perspicuity comes from Late Latin perspicuitās ‘evidentness”, “self-evidency’, from Latin perspicuus ‘clear”, “transparent”’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-‘to see, to look, to observe’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperspic(iō)
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperspicuus‘clear”, “transparent”’
- Late Latinmodernperspicuitās‘evidentness”, “self-evidency’literally ‘transparency”, “clarity”, “lucidity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1880perspicuity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*speḱ-‘to see, to look, to observe’root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEperspic(iō)
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEperspicuus‘clear”, “transparent”’
- Late Latinmodernperspicuitās‘evidentness”, “self-evidency’literally ‘transparency”, “clarity”, “lucidity’
- Englishearliest quotation 1880perspicuity
Earliest quotation: 1880, George Bernard Shaw, London: Archibald Constable & Co.: “[…]whether through the first officer's want of perspicuity or…”
Equivalent to perspicuous + -ity
Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
…
Proto-Italic *spekjō ‘to observe, see’
Latin speciō ‘observe, watch, look at’
Latin perspiciō ‘see through’
Latin perspicuus ‘evident, manifest, perspicuous’
English perspicuous
The story
Borrowed from Late Latin perspicuitās (“evidentness”, “self-evidency”, literally “transparency”, “clarity”, “lucidity”), from Latin perspicuus (“clear”, “transparent”; “evident”); compare perspicacity and the French perspicuité.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- ‘to see, to look, to observe’
special, respect, specific, despite, species, aspect, scope, perspective, spy, inspector, spectrum, inspection, expectation, spectacular, speculation, suspicion, skeptical, spite, specify, specimen, spice, spectacle, inspect, retrospective, spectator, espionage, speculative, speculate, retrospect, conspicuous, expectant, skeptic, specter, macroscopic, endoscopic, spectroscopic, specious, espy, circumspect, speculator, 118 more
Today it means
noun Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- / perspicuity