Translucencies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic of allowing light to filter through while remaining obscure defines variations in materials that seem almost clear yet block detailed vision
2. This refers to the state of certain substances that enable light transmission but distort the visibility of objects behind them
3. The property where a material permits light to pass without allowing clear images to form behind it

Etymology: "Translucencies" is simply the plural of "translucency," the noun for the quality of letting light through without letting clear images pass. The base word, "translucent," comes from Latin "translucere," meaning to shine through, built from "trans-" (across or through) and "lucere" (to shine), a root it shares with "lucid" and "light" in its Latin sense of brightness. The noun was formed by adding the English suffix "-ency" to "translucent," the same ending found in words like "fluency" and "transparency," which turns an adjective describing a quality into a noun naming that quality. The plural form is used when speakers want to refer to several distinct instances or kinds of this quality, such as the differing degrees of light-diffusion found in frosted glass, alabaster, or certain plastics. Because the English noun is a regular derivative of an existing adjective, its history is straightforward: the meaning comes directly from the Latin image of light shining through a solid, and the suffix is the only English addition.

Synonyms: clarities, luminances, shades, transparencies, glows

Antonyms: opacities, darkness, blackness, murkiness, cloudiness