Printable Version
Pronunciation: lu-sid Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Clear, transparent or at least translucent, as 'lucid water'. 2. Bright, luminous, as 'a lucid moon'. 3. Clearly expressed, intelligible, easily comprehended, as 'a lucid analysis'.

Notes: This word means "clear" but is much more beautiful that clear. It comes with an adverb, lucidly and a noun lucidity, a tad prettier than clarity.

In Play: The most common use of today's word is in its third sense: "The president made a lucid presentation on why he had to downsize the labor force in the company." Here is an example of how we can use two senses of this word in the same sentence: "Marjorie, standing in a lucid pool of her own tears, made a lucid case for why she should not be downsized."

Word History: Today's Good Word comes to us from Latin lucidus "light, bright, clear", figuratively "lucid, clear" via a borrowing from French lucide. Latin lucidus was based on lucere "to shine" from lux (luc-s) "light", inherited from PIE root leuk- "to shine, be bright". Lux also underlies Lucifer, the light-bearer, which in Old English meant "morning star". This PIE word came to English via its Germanic ancestors as light and to Russian via its Slavic ancestors as luch "ray, beam". (Today's Good Word was the first word recommended on Dr. Goodword's Facebook page by Marijane Moss of nearby Columbus County, Pennsylvania.)

Dr. Goodword,
