clarity

These two words popped up in my regular enjoyment of perusing of the etymology of words I don't know: perspicuity and perspicacity.

Mom and Dad, thank you for making me learn Latin (even if it was frustrating to hear that I would be grateful later). You were totally right. I love understanding the origins of words. I am so grateful for the clarity of language and grammatical structure, especially because English has so many irregularities.

perspicacity (n.)

"state or character of being perspicacious; keenness of sight, clearness of understanding," 1540s, from French perspicacité (15c.) and directly from Late Latin perspicacitas "sharp-sightedness, discernment," from Latin perspicax "sharp-sighted, having the power of seeing through," from perspicere "look through, look closely at," from per "through" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "through") + specere "look at" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe"). An earlier word was perspicience "ability to see all things, infinite vision" (c. 1400).


perspicuity (n.)

late 15c., perspicuite, of things, "clearness, transparency" (a sense now obsolete); 1540s of words or expressions, "quality of being clear to the mind; quality by which the meaning can be seen through the words," from Old French perspicuité and directly from Latin perspicuitas "transparency, clearness," from perspicuus "transparent," from perspicere "look through, look closely at" (see perspective)

via {etym online}