Cultural Note
In Roman rhetorical treatises, claritas named the virtue of a voice that carried across the forum; only later did it migrate to the eye.
Clarity
/ˈklɛrɪti/ · noun
The quality of being coherent, transparent, or intelligible.
- Present
- 14th c.
- 12th c.
- 1st c.
- Reconstructed
Preserved Worldview
The ancients did not separate sound from light. A thing that was clear was a thing that could be heard without confusion — a bright voice piercing the air.
Meaning Evolution
- Reconstructedto shout↓
- 1st c.loud, distinct, then bright↓
- 12th c.Clearness of air; brightness of light↓
- 14th c.Brightness, splendor, glory↓
- PresentMental transparency; freedom from ambiguity
Philosophical Note
Descartes' 'clear and distinct ideas' inherited the Latin sensory blend: an idea is clear the way a bell is clear.
Cognates
- clear
- declare
- clarion
- chiaroscuro
Descendants
- clarify
- clarification
- clarinet
Source Notes
- · OED (2023)
- · Ernout & Meillet, Dict. étymologique latin
- · Watkins, IE Roots