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Today it means

illustrate

to explain with examples; to provide pictures for

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Where does the word "illustrate" come from? It comes from Latin illustrare, and was adopted directly into English (1520s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "illustrate" come from? It comes from Latin illustrare, and was adopted directly into English (1520s).

Illustrate’s story begins in Latin: illustrare meant “to light up.” 'in-' plus 'lustrare', to brighten. It reached English by 1520s as illustrate. Book 'illustrations' date from the 1800s. Today, illustrate means to explain with examples; to provide pictures for.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient illustrare "to light up", 'in-' plus 'lustrare', to brighten.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1520s illustrate "to illuminate", book 'illustrations' date from the 1800s.

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