Conspicuous, a.
Etymology: [L. conspicuus, fr. conspicere to get sight of, to perceive; con- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy]
1. Open to the view; obvious to the eye; easy to be seen; plainly visible; manifest; attracting the eye. It was a rock Of alabaster, piled up to the clouds, Conspicious far. Milton. Conspicious by her veil and hood, Signing the cross, the abbess stood. Sir W. Scott.
2. Obvious to the mental eye; easily recognized; clearly defined; notable; prominent; eminent; distinguished; as, a conspicuous exellence, or fault. A man who holds a conspicuous place in the political, eccesiastical, and literary history of England. Macaulay.
Syn. -- Distinguished; eminent; famous; illustrious; prominent; celebrated. See Distinguished. -- Con*spic"u*ous*ly, adv. -- Con*spic"u*ous*ness, n.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for conspicuous; he lists it under evident.
Where he writes about it:
That is conspicuous which stands out so as necessarily or strikingly to attract the attention. — from evident