Etymology

perspicacious

per·spi·ca·cious
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Today it means: Of acute discernment; having keen insight; mentally perceptive. Full definition →

Late Latin perspicācitās ← Latin perspicax
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromperspicax“sharp-sighted”
  2. Late Latin · derived fromperspicācitās“discernment”
  3. English todayperspicacious

First attested 1548, from Late Latin perspicācitās (“discernment”), from Latin perspicax (“sharp-sighted”), from perspiciō (“look through”), from per- (“through”) + speciō (“look at”). See also perspective.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.