Clarificatio

Clarificatio is a Latin noun meaning the act of making clear, bright, or evident. It comes from clarus, clear, and the suffix -ficatio, from facere "to make," and its English cognate is "clarification." In classical and medieval Latin texts, clarificatio is used to refer to processes of clarification—either intellectual clarification, such as the precise articulation of a concept or distinction, or material purification, such as the purification of a liquid or the removal of impurities to produce a clear substance.

Historical use aside, in modern scholarship clarificatio survives mainly in the Latin phrases appended to translations and in the study of philosophy, theology, or alchemy where scholars quote or discuss ancient sources. In philosophy and theology, clarificatio can denote the methodological process of clarifying a proposition to resolve ambiguity, make inference more precise, or articulate a definition. In alchemy or early chemistry, it can refer to purification or clarification steps that led to a more lucid solution or substance.

Today, the common English term is clarification. The Latin form clarificatio is encountered when analyzing primary sources or in Latin-dominated fields such as patristics or medieval scholasticism.

See also: clarification; explicatio; purification.