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explicit

Etymology and origin of the English word explicit

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1613
Borrowed from
French explicite
Ultimate origin
Latin (explicitus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪkˈsplɪs.ɪt/, /ekˈsplɪs.ɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French explicite,[2][3][4] from Latin explicitus, unobstructed, a variant past participle of explicāre, to unfold, unravel, explain (see explicate),[2][3][5] from ex-, out, and plicāre, to fold (see ply).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of statements, expressed distinctly, leaving nothing implied: 1613, in Cawdrey's Table Alphabeticall,[2][6] the 1610s in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

Of knowledge, developed in detail, clear, is from 1651,[6] and of the brow, free from wrinkles, from 1671.[6] As a euphemism for pornographic it dates from 1971, though phrases such as sexually explicit are earlier.[3][7] A different word explicit, from Late Latin, was written by medieval scribes at the end of a book, probably short for explicitus est liber, “the book is unrolled”.[3][8][4][6]

Timeline

  • 1613 – distinctly expressed.[2][6]
  • 1651 – clear, detailed.[6]
  • 1671 – smooth (of the brow).[6]
  • 1971 – pornographic (euphemism).[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Stated clearly and in detail, leaving nothing implicit.
  2. Showing sex or violence in graphic detail.
  3. Open and frank in speech.

Word family

  • explicitly
  • explicitness
  • inexplicit
  • overexplicit
  • explicit function
  • explicate
  • explication
  • implicit
  • explain
  • ply

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Explicit.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/explicit. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·