transparency English · revision 15254

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1591|origins=la pāreō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tɹænsˈpæɹənsi/, /tɹænzˈpæɹənsi/ ''(UK)''; /tɹænsˈpæɹənsi/, /tɹænz-/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|trānspārentia]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la-med|trānspārēns|t=shining through]] (see [[transparent]]),^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|trāns|t=through]] and [[m|la|pāreō|t=to appear]].^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Something transparent, a transparent object: 1591 in the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1590s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The quality of being transparent, letting light through, is from 1615 (the 1610s in Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A picture or print on a translucent material, seen by light shining through it, is from 1785,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in photography a positive picture on glass from 1866.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The word was used as a mock translation of the German title [[m|de|Durchlaucht]] from 1844.^(OED 1989) Figurative uses for openness in government and business are in recent dictionaries.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1590s – transparence; a transparent object.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1615 – the quality of being transparent.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1785 – a picture lit from behind.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – a photographic transparency.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being [[transparent]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A positive photograph on a transparent base, viewed by light shining through it; a [[slide]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Openness, especially of an organization or government about its decisions and conduct.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nontransparency]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[transparent]]

+ * [[appear]]

+ * [[apparent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}