Pellucid
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Something which allows the passage of light; a translucent or transparent object. literary, obsolete, rare
"A Pellucid is not ſeen, but percieved^([sic]) by the privation of Colour. So vve ſee not Air in Air, VVater in VVater, Glaſs in Glaſs, and every Pellucid in an equal Pellucid; and becauſe vve knovv they are not coloured, vve count them to be diaphanous, viz. that may be ſeen, or ſhone thorough."
- 1 Allowing the passage of light; translucent or transparent. literary
"Blood to the naked Eye appears all red; but by a good Microſcope, vvherein its leſſer parts appear, ſhevvs only ſome fevv Globules of Red, ſvvimming in a pellucid Liquor; and hovv theſe Globules vvould appear, if Glaſſes could be found, that yet could magnifie them 1000, or 10000 times more, is uncertain."
- 2 Easily understood; clear. figuratively, literary
"Written in spare, pellucid prose, the book reads like a close-to-the-bone memoir."
- 3 Of music or some other sound: not discordant or harsh; clear and pure-sounding. figuratively, literary
"Opera star [Giorgio] Tozzi sings with the richness of burnished bronze and [Sharon] Daniels complements him with her pellucid soprano."
- 4 Of a person, their mind, etc.: able to think and understand clearly; not confused; clear, sharp. figuratively, literary
- 5 Easily recognized or seen through; apparent, obvious. archaic, figuratively, literary
- 1 (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable wordnet
- 2 transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity wordnet
Example
More examples"He raised Lucy from the ground in his arms, and conveying her through the glades of the forest by paths with which he seemed well acquainted, stopped not until he laid her in safety by the side of a plentiful and pellucid fountain, which had been once covered in, screened and decorated with architectural ornaments of a Gothic character."
Etymology
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin pellūcidus, perlucidus (“transparent, pellucid; very bright; very understandable”), from per- (prefix meaning ‘through; throughout; completely, thoroughly’) + lūcidus (“clear; full of light, bright, shining; (figuratively) easily understood, clear, lucid”) (from lūceō (“to shine; to become visible, show through; (figuratively) to be apparent, conspicuous, or evident”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright; to see; to shine”)) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’ forming adjectives)). The noun is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Late Latin pellucidum (“transparent substance”) * Middle French pellucide (modern French pellucide (“pellucid”))
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.