a. [ad. L. lūcid-us, f. lūcēre to shine. Cf. F. lucide.]
1. Bright, shining, luminous, resplendent. Now poet. and techn. Ent. and Bot. = Smooth and shining. Astr. Of a star: Visible to the naked eye.
1591. Spenser, M. Hubberd, 1259. With his azure wings he cleav’d The liquid clowdes, and lucid firmament.
1654. Vilvain, Theol. Treat., ii. 45. The Air is not a lucid body like the Sun.
1667. Milton, P. L., XI. 240. Over his lucid Armes A Militarie Vest of purple flowd.
1693. Bentley, Boyle Lect., viii. 5. There are great multitudes of lucid Starrs even beyond the reach of the best Telescopes.
1772–84. Cook, Voy. (1790), V. 1743. Supposed to be an animal which contributes to that lucid appearance often observed at sea in the night.
1797. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3), III. 443/2. [Botany.] A Surface is … Lucid, as if it were illuminated.
1800. Hulme, in Phil. Trans., XC. 180. Another lucid dead glow-worm was put into warm water, at 114°.
1833. Tennyson, Poems, 60. Her lucid neck Shone ivorylike.
1845. Westwood, Brit. Moths, II. 221. Aphelosetia lucidella (the lucid).
1847. W. E. Steele, Field Bot., Gloss. 16. Lucid, with a bright and shining surface.
1870–4. J. Thomson, City Dreadf. Nt., I. i. The lucid morning’s fragrant breath.
1893. Sir R. Ball, Story of Sun, 333. Beta Lyræ … is among the coolest of the lucid stars.
fig. a. 1652. J. Smith, Sel. Disc., iv. 112. The intellectual world, being … made all lucid, intellectual, and shining with the sunbeams of eternal truth.
1742. Barnard, Char. Lady E. Hastings, 39. To bring them into the lucid Path of Vertue and Religion.
2. Translucent, pellucid, clear.
1620. Venner, Via Recta, Introd. 4. The lucide and cleare substance of it [sc. air].
1647. H. More, Poems, 5. Thus they stood by that good lucid spring Of living bliss.
1725. Pope, Odyss., VI. 102. The lucid wave a spacious bason fills.
1791. Cowper, Odyss., III. i. The sun, emerging from the lucid waves.
1832. Lytton, Eugene A., I. x. How singularly pure and lucid the atmosphere becomes.
1882. F. W. H. Myers, Renewal of Youth, 314. Let many a heat distil Her lucid essence from the insurgent ill.
3. Lucid interval. Also in early use in med.L. form (pl.) lucida intervalla. a. A period of temporary sanity occurring between attacks of lunacy. (So F. intervalle lucide.) † Formerly also, in wider use, an interval of apparent health between the attacks or periods of a disease.
[The Latin phrase ‘non est compos mentis, sed gaudet lucidis intervallis’ is common in English legal documents from the 13th to the 15th c.; so also in the med.L. commentators on Justinian’s Institutes. For the etymological notion presumably underlying the expression, cf. c.]
1603. Sir C. Heydon, Jud. Astrol., xxi. 425. Sometimes shee [the moon] graunteth to them [lunatics] Lucida interualla.
1625. B. Jonson, Staple of N., V. i. They are almost mad! But I forgiue their Lucida Interualla.
c. 1645. Howell, Lett. (1650), II. 42. I had a shrewd disease hung lately upon me…. After som gentle slumbers, and unusuall dreames … I had a lucid intervall.
a. 1655. Vines, Lord’s Supper (1677), 213. A mad man may have lucid intervals.
1659. Stanley, Hist. Philos., XIII. (1701), 624/2. As for that Pain which is lasting, it is not only gentle, but hath many lucid intervals.
1686. J. Dunton, Lett. fr. New-Eng. (1867), 23. I had between whiles those lucid intervals [in sea-sickness].
1769. Blackstone, Comm., IV. 25. If a lunatic hath lucid intervals of understanding, he shall answer for what he does in those intervals.
1839. I. Ray, Med. Jurispr. Insanity, xiv. 298. It was decided by the court, Sir Willian Wynne, that she had a lucid interval, while making the will.
a. 1859. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xxv. V. 294. James lingered three days longer. He was occasionally sensible during a few minutes, and, during one of these lucid intervals [etc.].
b. transf. and fig. A period of rest or calm in the midst of tumult or confusion; an interval during which there is a reversion to a normal, reasonable or desirable condition.
1581. W. Allen, Apol. Eng. Seminaries, iii. 22. Which [Arianisme] though it troubled the world some hundred yeres together, yet it … had lucida interualla, gaue seasons of calme and rest to holy Bishops.
1622. Bacon, Hen. VII., Wks. 1861, VI. 32. Which [dissensions] although they had had … lucid intervals and happy pauses; yet did they ever hang over the kingdom.
1650. Fuller, Pisgah, IV. ii. 34. The devil heaped afflictions upon him, allowing him [Job] no lucid intervalls.
1682. Dryden, MacFl., 22. Some beams of wit on other souls may fall, Strike through and make a lucid interval.
1751. Smollett, Per. Pic., xxii. Neither was his whole time devoted to the riotous extravagances of youth. He enjoyed many lucid intervals.
1822. R. G. Wallace, 15 Yrs. in India, 194. It is quite impossible to transact business with a chief, except in that lucid interval between … one debauch, and … another.
1900. 19th Cent., Sept., 386. Italy is just passing through one of these lucid intervals.
¶ c. In the etymological sense: An interval of sunshine in a storm.
1655. Tuckney, Good Day well Impr., 8. Some short lucida intervalla, as the sun in a rainy day, looking out now and then a little.
1749. Capt. Standige, in Naval Chron., III. 207. It being then day-light, and a lucid interval between showers of snow.
4. Marked by clearness of reasoning, expression or arrangement; easily intelligible.
1786. Courtenay, Lit. & Mor. Charac. Johnson, 24. And lucid vigour mark’d the general style.
1803. Med. Jrnl., X. 182. Arranged in that lucid order which is so necessary to assist the student.
1838. Dickens, Nich. Nick., xxiv. Mrs. Curdle sat listening to this lucid explanation.
1871. Morley, Voltaire (1886), 7. His expression was incomparably lucid.
1876. C. M. Davies, Unorth. Lond., 103. The sermon was long but lucid.
5. Of persons: Clear in intellect; rational, sane.
1843. Carlyle, Past & Pr., II. i. Any lucid, simple-hearted soul like him.
1859. G. Meredith, R. Feverel, xxx. Two apparently lucid pcoplc.
1887. in Times, 11 Aug., 5/2. I believe you are insane on that one point. On everything else you are lucid and bright.
6. With agent-noun: That performs the action implied in a lucid manner.
1879. McCarthy, Own Times, II. xxix. 372. There never was a more lucid and candid reasoner.
