English
explicit
Explicit comes from French explicite ‘explicit, unequivocal, overt’, from Latin explicātus ‘disentangled, easy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-1‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicō1‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicō2‘to unfold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicātus3as explicitus‘disentangled, easy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600explicite4
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexplicite3‘explicit, unequivocal, overt’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989explicit3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin explico
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin explicatus
- 3 Wiktionary, English explicit
- 4 Wiktionary, French explicite
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Werner Winter, On a new claim concerning substratum influence upon Tocharia: “If the task is indeed a difficult one, it…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleḱ-Wiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold, plait, weave’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEplicōWiktionary, Latin explico‘to fold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicōWiktionary, Latin explicatus‘to unfold’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexplicātusWiktionary, English explicitas explicitus‘disentangled, easy’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600expliciteWiktionary, French explicite
- Frenchc. 1600–presentexpliciteWiktionary, English explicit‘explicit, unequivocal, overt’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989explicitWiktionary, English explicit. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Werner Winter, On a new claim concerning substratum influence upon Tocharia: “If the task is indeed a difficult one, it…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- ‘to fold, plait, weave’
complex, fiasco, flax, replication, flack, plexus, flagon, 34 more
through Latin plicō ‘to fold’
apply, display, employment, reply, employ, imply, deploy, replica, ploy, complication, ply, complicate, accomplice, supple, implicit, implicate, complicity, pliable, supplication, triplicate, splay, pliant, 22 more
through Latin explicō ‘to unfold’
exploitation, inexplicable, 8 more
through Latin explicātus ‘disentangled, easy’
Today it means
adj Very specific, clear, or detailed.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “explicit”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin explico, Latin explicatus, French explicite. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- / explicit