Perspicuous
/pərˈspɪk.ju.əs/noun
Clearly expressed or easy to understand; transparent.
Did you know?Perspicuous comes from Latin *perspicuus*, from *perspicere* meaning “to look through,” which is why English also gave us *spy* from the same ancient seeing-root.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*spek-
“to observe, look at, behold”
Latin
Latin
specere
“to look, look at, observe”
Latin
Latin
perspicere
“to look through, see clearly”
Latin
Latin
perspicuus
“transparent, clear, evident”
Late Middle English
English
perspicuous
“clear, easily understood”
Modern English
English
perspicuous
“clear and readily understood”