perspicuity

English

Alternative forms

perspicuite (obsolete) [15th c.]
perspicuitie (obsolete) [15th–16th c.]
perspicuitye (obsolete) [16th c.]
perspicuyte (obsolete) [from before 1500]
perspycuitie (obsolete) [from before 1500]

Etymology

From the Classical Latin perspicuitās (“transparency”, “lucidity”, “self-evidency”, (in post-Classical Latin): “penetration”, “insight”), from perspicuus (“clear”, “evident”); compare perspicacity and the French perspicuité. Surface analysis, perspicuous +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) enPR: pər'spĭkyo͞oʹĭti, IPA^(key): /ˌpəːspɪˈkjuːɪti/
- Audio (UK) (file)
(US) enPR: pər'spəkyo͞oʹədi, IPA^(key): /ˌpɚspəˈkjuəti/

Noun

perspicuity (countable and uncountable, plural perspicuities)

Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
- 1880, [George] Bernard Shaw, chapter XVIII, in The Irrational Knot [...] Being the Second Novel of His Nonage, London: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1905, OCLC 1050472693, page 354:
  […] whether through the first officer's want of perspicuity or my own stupidity, I was not a bit the wiser for the explanation.
Perspicacity; insight.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698, page 51:
  “Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
- 1965, "The Stupid Spy," Time, 19 Mar,
  Thompson, a high school dropout, said with rare perspicuity that he doubted the FBI would hire him.
(rare) Transparency; translucence.
- 1900, Edith Wharton, The Touchstone, ch. 11,
  It must have been on some such day of harsh sunlight, the incisive February brightness that gives perspicuity without warmth.

Synonyms

perspicuousness

Related terms

perspicacious
perspicaciously
perspective

References

“perspicuity” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]
“perspicuity, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [draft revision; Mar. 2010]
perspicuity in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
perspicuity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
“perspicuity”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.