Explicit
/ɪkˈsplɪsɪt/noun
Stated clearly and directly; not left to implication.
Did you know?In Latin, explicitus could describe something that had been “unfolded” or “freed from entanglement,” which is why the word later came to mean something fully spelled out and completely clear.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*plek-
“to plait, weave, fold”
Latin
Latin
plicare
“to fold, braid, entangle”
Latin
Latin
explicitus
“unfolded, disentangled, plain”
Late Latin
Latin
explicitus
“finished; written out in full”
14th Century
English
explicit
“fully expressed; plainly set forth”
Modern English
English
explicit
“stated clearly and directly; not left to implication”