perspicuus

Forms

perspicuus (feminine perspicua, neuter perspicuum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from perspiciō (“to see through”) with -uus.^[2][3][4] The verb is per- (“through”) and speciō (“to look”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *spekje/o- and Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-ie/o- (“to look”), cognate with Sanskrit पश्यति (páśyati, “sees”) and Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai, “to look around”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Rhetorica ad Herennium speaks of having a clear method for introductions;^[2] Köbler gives Cicero.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It is transparent or clear, as Ovid's clear waters and Mela's cave clear at first, then darker, and visible through something, as in Statius.^[2][7] It is clearly visible or conspicuous, as Cicero's man who threw himself among the enemy to certain death for the army's safety.^[2] Above all it is clear to the mind, plain or evident, as Varro's festivals with a self-explaining name, and of style lucid.^[2][7][1]

Church Latin glosses it “evident, visible, plain”.^[8] In Medieval Latin it is also clear-sighted, and outstanding.^[9] English perspicuous in the late 15th century meant “that can be seen through”.^[4]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium of a clear method.^[2][6]
• 116–27 BC – Varro of self-explaining names.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a visible death.^[2][6]
• 43/44 AD – Mela of a clear cave.^[2][6]
• late 15th century – Borrowed into English as perspicuous.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Transparent, clear; visible through something.^[2][7][1]
2. Clearly visible, conspicuous.^[2][8]
3. Plain, evident; lucid.^[2][7][1][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Clear-sighted; outstanding.^[9]

Word family

• imperspicuus
• perspicuitās

Related words

• perspiciō
• conspicuus
• speciō
• English perspicuous

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill