perspicuity
/ˌpəːspɪˈkjuːɪti/
"perspicuity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perspicuity” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
Corpus desk
Index EN-perspicuity · perspicuity · English
perspicuity · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perspicuity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpəːspɪˈkjuːɪti/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “perspicuity” in English
Rare enough to double-check
perspicuity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpəːspɪˈkjuːɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
perspicuity doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin perspicuitās (“evidentness”, “self-evidency”, literally “transparency”, “clarity”, “lucidity”), from Latin perspicuus (“clear”, “transparent”; “evident”); compare perspicacity and the French perspicuité. By surface analysis, perspic… The correct English form is perspicuity, spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-C-U-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1Clarity, lucidity, especially in expression; the state or characteristic of being perspicuous.
- 2Perspicacity; insight.
- 3Transparency; translucence.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how perspicuity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[…]whether through the first officer's want of perspicuity or my own stupidity, I was not a bit the wiser for the explanation.
“Well,” I answered, at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin perspicuitās (“evidentness”, “self-evidency”, literally “transparency”, “clarity”, “lucidity”), from Latin perspicuus (“clear”, “transparent”; “evident”); compare perspicacity and the French perspicuité. By surface analysis, perspicuous + -ity.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.