elucidate

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Will you travel further or farther for your summer vacation?
Take along our Concise Dictionary of English Usage and find out!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?conusg.htm&6
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The Word of the Day for July 5 is: 

elucidate   \ih-LOO-suh-dayt\   verb
     1 : to make lucid especially by explanation or analysis 
    *2 : to give a clarifying explanation

Example sentence:
     Mary was asked to elucidate a bit for those in the audience who weren't 
up-to-date on the latest research.

Did you know?
     To "elucidate" is to make something clear that was formerly murky or 
confusing -- and it is perfectly clear how the modern term got that meaning. 
"Elucidate" traces to the Latin term "lucidus," which means "lucid." "Lucidus" 
in turn descends from the verb "lucere," meaning "to shine." So "elucidating" 
can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something 
to make it easier to see. "Lucere" has also produced other shining offspring in 
English. Among its descendants are "lucid" itself (which can mean "shining," 
"clear-headed," or "easily understood"), "lucent" (meaning "giving off light" 
or "easily seen through"), and "translucent" (meaning "partly transparent" or 
"clear enough for light to pass through").


*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.