Explicit

How to spell explicit

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce explicit

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does explicit mean?

1. adjectiveStated fully and clearly, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

Explicit in a sentence

• The contract gave explicit instructions about the payment schedule.

• She was explicit about the deadline so nobody could claim confusion.

Where does explicit come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin explicitus, the past participle of explicare, which literally meant 'to unfold' or 'to unroll'. The verb was built from ex- meaning 'out' and plicare meaning 'to fold', so the original image was of opening something that had been folded up, such as a scroll being unrolled to reveal its contents. From this physical sense the meaning grew into 'to make clear' or 'to set out fully', since explaining an idea is much like unfolding it for someone to see. English adopted the word in the early 1600s with the sense of something laid out plainly and leaving nothing hidden. The same plicare root survives in a family of relatives including 'imply', 'complicated', and 'replica', all of which still carry the idea of folding in some form, and remembering that single 'c' in the 'plic' element helps fix the spelling.

How the word is built

• ex- (out)
• plic (to fold)
• -it (past participle ending)