Hyperlucent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Permitting an unusually high amount of light to pass through a material or tissue
2. Characterized by a surface or substance that lets light travel through it more freely than normal
3. Describes something that exhibits increased transparency, allowing more light to shine through than typical

Etymology: Hyperlucent is a plain formation: the prefix "hyper-", from Greek "hyper" meaning "over" or "beyond," attached to "-lucent," from Latin "lucens," the present participle of "lucere," "to shine." Together they describe something that lets through more light than is usual. The base is the more interesting half. "Lucere" is the root behind "lucid," "elucidate," and "translucent," so a hyperlucent object is, in effect, more translucent than translucent itself. The prefix does the same job it does in "hyperactive" or "hypersensitive," pushing a quality past its ordinary range. Because the word is built from familiar parts, its meaning can be read straight off its structure, which is why it works as a technical or descriptive term where a single native word would be less precise.