Word of the Day

: February 1, 2011

lucid

adjective LOO-sid

What It Means

1 a : suffused with light : luminous

b : translucent

2 : having full use of one's faculties : sane

3 : clear to the understanding : intelligible

lucid in Context

When Shelly talks in her sleep she often says things that are perfectly lucid, but if you ask her about the statements in the morning she won’t remember a thing.

"Through her characteristic prodigious research and lucid prose, Janette Thomas Greenwood has produced a magisterial narrative that tells an incredibly moving and often tragic story about Reconstruction." -- From a book review by Erik J. Chaput in the Providence Journal-Bulletin (Rhode Island), December 26, 2010

Did You Know?

It's easy enough to shed some light on the origins of "lucid" -- it derives, via the Latin adjective "lucidus," meaning "shining," from the Latin verb "lucēre," meaning "to shine." "Lucid" has been used by English speakers since at least the late 16th century. Although it once meant merely "filled with light" or "shining," it has developed extended senses describing someone whose mind is clear or something with a clear meaning. Other shining examples of "lucēre" descendants include "translucent," "lucent" ("glowing"), and the somewhat rarer "relucent" ("reflecting light" or "shining"). Even the word "light" itself derives from the same ancient word that led to "lucēre."