elucidate

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2025 is: elucidate ih-LOO-suh-dayt verb To elucidate something is to make it clear or easy to understand. // The writer elucidates complex medical findings for a general audience. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elucidate) Examples: “Building flexible classrooms gives the building a lifespan beyond one class or even one era of [pedagogy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedagogy), which, as [Lee] Fertig elucidates, are sure to evolve.” — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 25 Sep. 2024 Did you know? In 1974, the discovery of a remarkably intact [Australopithecus](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Australopithecus) skeleton elucidated a key moment in human evolution. She was famously nicknamed Lucy in reference to the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” but we’d still love Lucy were it simply an homage to the light she shed. You see, the Latin luc- or lux puts the “light” in many English utterances (including the name Lucy). Take, for instance, [lucent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lucent) (“glowing with light”), [luculent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luculent) (“clear in thought or expression”), [luciferous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/luciferous) (“bringing light or insight”), [lucid](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lucid) (“clear, sane, intelligible”), and elucidate (“to make clear or understandable”). Those last two words come from the Latin lucidus, which literally translates to “lucid.” Lucidus, in turn, comes from the verb lucēre, meaning “to shine.” Elucidating, therefore, can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see.