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 oflight ;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
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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_Lamina_ or Plate of a transparent or pellucid body of a thickness very determinate and proportioned according to the greater or less refractive power of the _pellucid_ body.
Micrographia Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon Robert Hooke 1669
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THE river Little St. Juan may, with singular propriety, be termed the pellucid river.
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"It is pellucid, that is, not opaque, or dark -- it gives admission to the light, and reflects it back again in all its beauty, brilliancy, and purity.
The Young Emigrants; Madelaine Tube; the Boy and the Book; and Crystal Palace Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick 1827
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Nowhere, for example, will you find a more pellucid explanation for the existence of Young Republicans, the popular belief in angels, or the utterances of Fundamentalist Christians
Is Barack Obama An American Citizen? | Heretical Ideas Magazine 2009
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I have read the story a dozen times, never actually understood it, but also have never failed to draw inspiration and encouragement from Ballard's pellucid writing and the amazing and surreal images.
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Whether quoting Auden or some other poet, Mr. Wasley makes a habit of seeking to clarify the already clear; he paraphrases the pellucid.
Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011
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A sickly light, errant and pellucid, thrilled above him.
Ballardian » “Driven by Anger”: An Interview with Michael Butterworth (the Savoy interviews, part 1) 2009
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I tell myself, as Jean Renoir pointed out with such pellucid irony in The Rules of the Game, that everybody has their reasons.
"The vitriol it inspires is downright weird"` Not a sheep 2009
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And yet even the oldest stories have a timeless appeal thanks to the pellucid prose of Mr. Asher, whose metaphors never strain and whose narrative flows like a glass of his beloved Corton.
Gift Guide: Best Wine Books Lettie Teague 2011
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The masterpiece, Roxanne, was mostly composed of the words "myriad" and "pellucid", emotions and light effects.
seanmeade commented on the word pellucid
allowing the maximum passage of light, as glass; translucent.
March 26, 2007
samoritan commented on the word pellucid
This word has to be on my short list of all-time faves.
May 23, 2007
minerva commented on the word pellucid
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
renumeratedfrog commented on the word pellucid
As ironic as it may be, using the word "pellucid" in a sentence makes it anything but that.
August 19, 2008
shevek commented on the word pellucid
This sounds like it could be the name of a Turkish dynasty.
August 19, 2008
rolig commented on the word pellucid
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
super-logos commented on the word pellucid
Yes, the word, perlucid, were there one, would never work. Thank God for ancestors who used prefixes and suffixes mellifluously.
August 19, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word pellucid
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
reesetee commented on the word pellucid
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
rolig commented on the word pellucid
Wasn't Pella the capital of Philip of Macedon and his son Alex?
*too lazy to look it up*
January 23, 2009
reesetee commented on the word pellucid
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
rolig commented on the word pellucid
Thanks, Rt! It's been a busy week. I owe you one.
January 24, 2009
reesetee commented on the word pellucid
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
rolig commented on the word pellucid
I do have a hat that says "COPY EDITOR", yes.
January 24, 2009
reesetee commented on the word pellucid
Lucky you. They don't give out hats for my type. ;->
January 25, 2009
rolig commented on the word pellucid
Oh, I wear several hats.
January 25, 2009
sionnach commented on the word pellucid
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
jaime_d commented on the word pellucid
From "Au Tombeau de Charles Fourier" by Guy Davenport
January 19, 2010