Transparencies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Materials that allow light to pass through while scattering it, often used in art or educational displays
2. Objects such as sheets or films that enable the visibility of underlying images or text due to their see-through quality
3. Thin materials that permit light to filter through, thus revealing the surfaces behind them and often utilized in presentations or educational contexts

Etymology: "Transparencies" is the plural of "transparency," which comes from Medieval Latin "trānspārentia," formed from "transparent" plus the suffix "-cy," meaning a state or quality. The root "transparent" itself combines Latin "trans," meaning "through," with "parere," meaning "to appear," so the underlying idea is something you can see through. The plural used for the sheets themselves is a later, more concrete sense. The abstract quality of being see-through came first, and the word then shifted to name the physical object: the glossy sheet placed on an overhead projector, or a photographic slide held up to the light. That move from quality to object is why the word now sounds like a thing you can hand to a class.

Synonyms: translucencies, clarities

Antonyms: opaqueness