TRANSLUCENT

translucent, semitransparent

(adjective) allowing light to pass through diffusely; “translucent amber”; “semitransparent curtains at the windows”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

translucent (comparative more translucent, superlative most translucent)

Allowing light to pass through, but diffusing it.

Clear, lucid, or transparent.

Coordinate terms

• opaque

• transparent

Source: Wiktionary


Trans*lu"cent, a. Etym: [L. translucens, -entis, p. pr. of translucere to shine through; trans across, through = lucere to shine. See Lucid.]

1. Transmitting rays of light without permitting objects to be distinctly seen; partially transparent.

2. Transparent; clear. [Poetic] "Fountain or fresh current . . . translucent, pure." Milton. Replenished from the cool, translucent springs. Pope.

Syn.

– Translucent, Transparent. A thing is translucent when it merely admits the passage of light, without enabling us to distinguish the color and outline of objects through it; it is transparent when we can clearly discern objects placed on the other side of it. Glass, water, etc., are transparent; ground glass is translucent; a translucent style.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

10 June 2025

COMMUNICATIONS

(noun) the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); “communications is his major field of study”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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