核心畫面

Nothing in the way — like looking through clean glass. Whatever is on the other side arrives whole, without you having to work to make it out.

中間沒有東西擋著。像隔著一片乾淨的玻璃看出去,該看到的東西就完整地送到你眼前,你不必瞇眼、不必猜、不必回頭再看一次。更多收起中間沒有東西擋著。像隔著一片乾淨的玻璃看出去,該看到的東西就完整地送到你眼前,你不必瞇眼、不必猜、不必回頭再看一次。clarity 說的一直是這種「暢通」的狀態——不管中間那片玻璃是文字、是腦袋,還是螢幕和喇叭。

From the word’s history

From Latin clārus "clear, bright," via Latin clāritās and Old French clarté into Middle English claritee. The root's original brightness — light coming through undimmed — is still the picture behind every modern use.

來自拉丁文 clārus「明亮、清澈」,經 clāritās、古法語 clarté 進入中古英語 claritee,等於 clear + -ity。字根本來講的是「光透得過來、不被遮住」的亮度,這個「光不受阻礙」的畫面一直留在現代所有用法底下:不論是文章、思緒還是影像,clarity 都是在說中間沒有雜質擋光。

Wiktionary entry for "clarity" (attested origin supplied in the payload: Middle English claritee < Old French clarté < Latin clāritās < clārus "clear").

Three branches

訊息透得過來:文字與表達

把「乾淨玻璃」放在人跟人之間:意思要從寫的人送到讀的人手上,中途不能有東西擋住。

clearness of expression · noun · C2

The quality of a piece of writing, a law, or an argument being expressed clearly, so it is easy to follow.

清晰

腦袋裡透得過來:思考與判斷

同一片玻璃移到腦袋內部:這次擋光的不是文字,而是疲倦、混亂、猶豫。

clearness of thought · noun · C2

The ability to think, understand, or remember something clearly, or a clear sense of what you want or see as important.

清楚

感官上透得過來:影像與聲音

回到最字面的那片玻璃:眼睛和耳朵接收到的東西,中間沒有雜訊。

clearness of picture or sound · noun · C2

The quality of a picture or sound being clear and easy to see or hear.

清晰度

原始詞典資料4 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

claritynoun/ˈklæɹ.ɪ.ti/

  • 1

    The state or measure of being clear, either in appearance, thought or style; lucidity.

    • She dreamed with great clarity.
    • The brilliant clarity of his argument could not be faulted.
  • 2

    The ability to be easily understood.

    • Lack of clarity on the part of the teacher will cause confusion among the students.
  • 3

    The ability to think clearly and rationally.

  • 4

    The ability to be easily heard.

    • The singer was praised for the amazing clarity in her voice.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。