A number of years ago we were on a church tour in Montreal that highlighted stained glass windows. The translucent window panes allowed the brightness of the day to fill the sanctuaries and provide amazing colour and spiritual thoughts.
There was a church in Homer, Alaska, where I preached a few times many years ago, that had a large clear glass window behind the altar. I wished it would have been translucent rather than clear, as people would get distracted by the boats and jet skis on Kachemak Bay during the service. The intention was noble to allow the beauty of nature, mountains and water, to be visible from inside the building but there were times when I knew people were looking past me at the action while I led the service.
Translucent things permit the passage of light yet transmitting and diffusing the light so that objects beyond cannot be seen clearly. Translucent has been used in the English language since 1568, coming from the Latin word lucere, meaning to shine, plus trans, which means ‘through’.
Related to translucent are elucidate and lucid, also derived from the Latin lucere. To elucidate something is to metaphorically shine a light on it by explaining it clearly. A lucid person is able to think clearly. According to law, a person must be lucid in order to draw up and sign a will. Writing something that is easy to understand can be considered lucid.
Water is translucent because it allows light to shine through but scattering the light so that things may not appear distinctly. Translucent can also be used to imply that a person is free from disguise or falseness, whose character is clear and easily understood. A translucent speaker can be someone whose ideas and feelings are open and undoubtedly seen.
Clear, transparent, limpid, and translucent all mean capable of being seen through.
Clear means the absence of cloudiness, haziness, or muddiness. It was such an amazingly clear day that I could follow the golf ball, even the well hit ones, miles down the fairway. Blue sky is magnificent on a clear day.
Transparent, sometimes confused with translucent, implies something that is so clear that objects are seen distinctly, as if nothing was in the way. Every time I get a new windshield installed in one of our vehicles, I remark how transparent the replacement is compared to the old, pitted windshield.
Limpid suggests the soft clearness of a pure water. She was breath-taking with eyes like limpid pools of blue. In the far north the rivers are limpid streams of water.
Translucent means the passage of light is allowed but not a clear view of what lies beyond. The new frosted doors we had installed in our walk-in shower are translucent, not clear.
Translucent silicone is used in various applications where visibility is needed but a high degree of clarity is not essential. Translucent silicone allows some light to pass through, but it's not a perfect mirror of a clear material. The light is scattered within the material, preventing a sharp, undistorted view through it.
Cars may have tinted windows, but they must remain transparent not translucent. A single sheet of tissue paper is translucent, but a couple of them together is opaque. Food items that are translucent include maple syrup, gelatin-based foods, custards, honey, and jams. Gemstones, the petals of some flowers, and many insect wings are translucent.
Translucent objects can either absorb or transmit light waves. If an object allows some frequencies of visible light to pass through, but not others, it is translucent. If an object allows the frequencies of visible light to pass through, but they bend and scatter in the process, the object is translucent.
Churches and buildings have made use of stained glass windows for ages to provide a translucent substance to enable light to enter yet provide artistic and meaningful images to tell stories and convey symbolism. Next time you enter a building with stained glass consider how the translucent windows give extra beauty without the distraction of outside movement or action.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to [email protected]. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
