clairvoyance

C2+ Topic:Senses & Perception

US /klɛrˈvɔɪəns/ UK /kleəˈvɔɪəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the supposed power to perceive things beyond normal sensory contact

She claimed a flash of clairvoyance had warned her of the storm.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the supposed power to... second sightprecognition prescience telepathyextrasensory perception

Word family

Derived forms clairvoyant

Related forms clear voyeur clarity

Etymology

From French clairvoyance ('clear-sightedness'), from clair ('clear', from Latin clarus) + voyance ('seeing', from voir, from Latin videre 'to see').

clarus Latin videre Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Senses & Perception

External links

# clairvoyance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /klɛrˈvɔɪəns/
**IPA (UK):** /kleəˈvɔɪəns/

## Meanings
1. the supposed power to perceive things beyond normal sensory contact

## Examples
- She claimed a flash of clairvoyance had warned her of the storm.

## Synonyms
- second sight
- precognition
- prescience
- telepathy
- extrasensory perception

## Derived Forms
- clairvoyant

## Related Forms
- clear
- voyeur
- clarity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: clarus
- Root: videre

## Etymology
From French clairvoyance ('clear-sightedness'), from clair ('clear', from Latin clarus) + voyance ('seeing', from voir, from Latin videre 'to see').

## AI Etymology
Clairvoyance comes from French clairvoyance ('clear-sightedness'), from clair ('clear', from Latin clarus) + voyance ('seeing', from voir, from Latin videre 'to see'). The historical trail runs through clarus in Latin and videre in Latin. Morphologically, clairvoyance is transparent: it draws on French clairvoyance ('clear-sightedness'), from clair ('clear', from Latin clarus) + voyance ('seeing', from voir, from Latin videre 'to see'). Used as a noun, clairvoyance now means "the supposed power to perceive things beyond normal sensory contact", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as clairvoyant and related forms such as clear, voyeur, and clarity. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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