pellucid means allowing the passage of light; translucent or transparent.
pellucid is pronounced /pɪˈl(j)uːsɪd/.
Why “pellucid” is a great word
Allowing light to pass through so clearly as to be transparent, or so clearly expressed as to be immediately and utterly comprehensible. From the Latin per ("through") and lucidus ("clear, bright"), from lucēre ("to shine"), first attested in English in the 1610s. Unlike "lucid," which foregrounds the logical precision of an argument, or "translucent," which describes a softened glow that obscures details, pellucid denotes an utter absence of obstruction or opacity. It is the cold, flawless clarity of a mountain tarn seen to its stony bed, the bell-like purity of a single note hanging in still air, or the prose that dissolves its own artifice to reveal the thought beneath—a rare quality of being so perfectly medium that it becomes, itself, invisible.
adj
- Allowing the passage of light; translucent or transparent.
- Easily understood; clear.e.g.“Written in spare, pellucid prose, the book reads like a close-to-the-bone memoir.”
- Of music or some other sound: not discordant or harsh; clear and pure-sounding.e.g.“Opera star [Giorgio] Tozzi sings with the richness of burnished bronze and [Sharon] Daniels complements him with her pellucid soprano.”
- Of a person, their mind, etc.: able to think and understand clearly; not confused; clear, sharp.
- Easily recognized or seen through; apparent, obvious.
noun
- Something which allows the passage of light; a translucent or transparent object.