Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Admitting the passage of light; transparent or translucent. synonym: clear.
  • adjective Transparently clear in style or meaning.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Transparent.
  • Admitting the passage of light, but not properly transparent; translucent; limpid; not opaque; in entomology, transparet, but not necessarily colorless; translucent.
  • Figuratively, clear; transparent to mental vision.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Transparent; clear; limpid; translucent; not opaque.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective allowing for the passage of light; transparent
  • adjective easily understood; clear

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
  • adjective (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin pellūcidus, from pellūcēre, to shine through : per-, through; see per– + lūcēre, to shine; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin pellūcidus, from per- ("very") + lūcidus ("clear, bright") (from whence lucid), from lūceō ("shine, be visible"). Compare clear, crystal clear, both also with literal meaning “transparent” but metaphorical meaning “easily understood”.

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Examples

Comments

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  • allowing the maximum passage of light, as glass; translucent.

    March 26, 2007

  • This word has to be on my short list of all-time faves.

    May 23, 2007

  • I am glad she wept so much, because no heart bursts (be the occasion for the sorrow what it will) which has that kindly relief. Hence I hardly ever am moved at the sight of these pellucid fugitives in a fine woman.

    Lovelace to Belford, Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

    December 11, 2007

  • As ironic as it may be, using the word "pellucid" in a sentence makes it anything but that.

    August 19, 2008

  • This sounds like it could be the name of a Turkish dynasty.

    August 19, 2008

  • I think it is a lovely word, with light – lux – shining through (per > pel) from its core, with the tintinnabulation of the initial pell- sound. There is nothing whatsoever opaque about this word.

    August 19, 2008

  • Yes, the word, perlucid, were there one, would never work. Thank God for ancestors who used prefixes and suffixes mellifluously.

    August 19, 2008

  • I imagine it may have been the inspiration for Pella windows. Signed, Too Lazy to Read the Company Site to Find Out.

    January 22, 2009

  • Funny, I always assumed that. But then you had to go and pique my curiosity and post the Pella website. Here's what I found:

    1925

    Pete and Lucille Kuyper invest in a small Des Moines, Iowa company that manufactures Rolscreen® window screens

    1926

    The Kuypers move the company to their hometown of Pella, Iowa

    So now I'm wondering: Was Pella, IA, named after "pellucid"? ;-)

    January 23, 2009

  • Wasn't Pella the capital of Philip of Macedon and his son Alex?

    *too lazy to look it up*

    January 23, 2009

  • All right, all right. There are only so many times you can use my "too lazy to look it up" phrase to get me to look things up for you. ;-)

    Must...look...up....

    YES! It was the capital of Macedonia!

    Eesh. I need a life.

    January 24, 2009

  • Thanks, Rt! It's been a busy week. I owe you one.

    January 24, 2009

  • Nah, you don't owe me anything. Just teasing. It's an editor thing, I guess (the three of us are editors of varying sorts, yes?).

    January 24, 2009

  • I do have a hat that says "COPY EDITOR", yes.

    January 24, 2009

  • Lucky you. They don't give out hats for my type. ;->

    January 25, 2009

  • Oh, I wear several hats.

    January 25, 2009

  • adj: "translucent, with the incomparable clarity of a world-class Brazilian soccer player at the top of his game, or the glowing incandescence of a Hawaiian volcano goddess".

    January 26, 2009

  • From "Au Tombeau de Charles Fourier" by Guy Davenport

    January 19, 2010