Pellucidness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being clear or transparent both visually and cognitively is essential for effective communication and comprehension
2. The trait of allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen
3. The characteristic of being easy to understand or free from obscurity

Etymology: Pellucidness is a plain English construction: the adjective "pellucid" with the suffix "-ness" added to turn a quality into a noun. The adjective came into English from Latin "pellucidus," meaning "transparent" or "clear right through," built from "per" ("through") and "lucidus" ("bright, clear"), which itself comes from "lux" ("light"). So the word's core image is light passing through something, which is why the adjective was first used of physical clearness before it came to describe clarity of expression. The suffix "-ness" is the older part of the story. It descends from an Old English form that attached to adjectives to produce abstract nouns, the same pattern behind "darkness" or "kindness." Attaching it to a Latin-derived adjective is a common English habit, so "pellucidness" follows the familiar route of a borrowed adjective being given a native English noun ending.

Synonyms: clarity, transparency, lucidity

Antonyms: opacity, obscurity, muddy