Word of the Day

: October 28, 2009

luculent

adjective LOO-kyuh-lunt

What It Means

: clear in thought or expression : lucid

luculent in Context

"I have heard, for example, a luculent description of poor Allister Campbell, and another drudge of the same class, running a race after dinner for a new pair of breeches." (John G. Lockhart, Memoirs of Sir Walter Scott)

Did You Know?

To shed light on the meaning of "luculent," one need only look at its root -- the Latin noun "lux," meaning "light." The English word first appeared in the 15th century with the meaning "brilliant" or "shining," as in "a luculent flame." By the mid-16th century, the "clear in thought or expression" sense had begun to shine, and by that century's end another sense was flickering with the meaning "illustrious" or "resplendent" (as in Ben Jonson's 1599 description of a "most debonair and luculent lady"). Both the "illustrious" and the "emitting light" sense have fallen out of use, and even the "clear" sense is now rare. (When it does appear, it is typically in humorous contexts in which the writer is intentionally choosing obscure words.) Today's writers seem to prefer another "lux" descendant with a similar meaning: "lucid."