éclaircissement

American  

[ey-kler-sees-mahn] / eɪ klɛr sisˈmɑ̃ /

noun

French.

éclaircissements plural

1. clarification; explanation.

2. (initial capital letter) the Enlightenment.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• éclaircissements
  plural

Explanation

Eclaircissement is clarifying something that initially seemed impossible to understand. Once your teacher sits down and patiently explains how to solve an equation, an eclaircissement can finally take place. When something obscure or incomprehensible is cleared up for you, that's eclaircissement. It's a bit like enlightenment, producing a significant change in the way you perceive or understand. You might experience an eclaircissement about your mysterious and cranky neighbor when you see him tenderly caring for his pet pigeons; you understand him more clearly. The French éclaircissement comes from the verb éclaircir, "to clear up," and a Latin root meaning "clear."