transpicuous

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2007 is: transpicuous • \tran-SPIK-yuh-wus\ • adjective : clearly seen through or understood Examples: Although the reporter claimed to be merely curious, her motives were quite transpicuous; it was clear that she was hunting a story. Did you know? "Transpicuous" is derived from the Latin word "transpicere," meaning "to look through." "Transpicere," in turn, is a formation that combines "trans-," meaning "through," and "specere," a verb meaning "to look" or "to see." If you guessed that "transpicuous" is related to "conspicuous," you're correct. It's also possible to see a number of other "specere" descendants in English, including "aspect," "circumspect," "expect," "inspect," "perspective," and "suspect." Another descendant of "specere," and a close synonym of "transpicuous," is "perspicuous," which means "clear and easy to understand," as in "a perspicuous argument." ("Per-," like "trans-," means "through.") There's also "perspicacious," meaning "keen and observant." (You might say that "perspicuous" and "transpicuous" mean "able to be seen through," whereas "perspicacious" means "able to see through.") See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.