Revised 2005
perspicuousadjective
Factsheet
What does the adjective perspicuous mean?
There are seven meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective perspicuous, four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the adjective perspicuous?
About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English
1750 | 1.7 |
1760 | 1.8 |
1770 | 1.9 |
1780 | 2.3 |
1790 | 2.6 |
1800 | 2.8 |
1810 | 2.8 |
1820 | 2.6 |
1830 | 2.3 |
1840 | 1.9 |
1850 | 1.5 |
1860 | 1.2 |
1870 | 0.94 |
1880 | 0.68 |
1890 | 0.5 |
1900 | 0.37 |
1910 | 0.27 |
1920 | 0.2 |
1930 | 0.17 |
1940 | 0.17 |
1950 | 0.16 |
1960 | 0.17 |
1970 | 0.18 |
1980 | 0.18 |
1990 | 0.18 |
2000 | 0.18 |
2010 | 0.19 |
How is the adjective perspicuous pronounced?
British English
/pəˈspɪkjʊəs/
puh-SPICK-yoo-uhss
U.S. English
/pərˈspɪkjəwəs/
puhr-SPICK-yuh-wuhss
Where does the adjective perspicuous come from?
Earliest known use
late 1500s
The earliest known use of the adjective perspicuous is in the late 1500s.
OED's earliest evidence for perspicuous is from 1570, in the writing of Henry Billingsley, merchant and translator.
perspicuous is a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: Latin perspicuus.
Nearby entries
- perspicacy, n.1600–
- perspicience, n.c1450–
- perspicil, n.1611–
- perspicuate, adj.a1500
- perspicuate, v.1634
- perspicuately, adv.a1500
- perspicuity, n.a1500–
- perspiculative, adj.1623
- perspiculous, adj.1565
- perspiculously, adv.1661
- perspicuous, adj.1570–
- perspicuously, adv.1592–
- perspicuousness, n.1697–
- perspirability, n.1650–
- perspirable, adj. & n.1583–
- perspirable point, n.1805
- perspirable vein, n.1684
- perspirant, n.1745
- perspirate, v.1844–
- perspirating, adj.a1789–
- perspiration, n.1583–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for perspicuous, adj.
perspicuous, adj. was revised in December 2005
perspicuous, adj. was last modified in December 2023
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into perspicuous, adj. in December 2023.
Earlier versions of perspicuous, adj. were published in:
OED First Edition (1905)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Factsheet for perspicuous, adj.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- perspicacy, n.1600–
- perspicience, n.c1450–
- perspicil, n.1611–
- perspicuate, adj.a1500
- perspicuate, v.1634
- perspicuately, adv.a1500
- perspicuity, n.a1500–
- perspiculative, adj.1623
- perspiculous, adj.1565
- perspiculously, adv.1661
- perspicuous, adj.1570–
- perspicuously, adv.1592–
- perspicuousness, n.1697–
- perspirability, n.1650–
- perspirable, adj. & n.1583–
- perspirable point, n.1805
- perspirable vein, n.1684
- perspirant, n.1745
- perspirate, v.1844–
- perspirating, adj.a1789–
- perspiration, n.1583–