From Latin 'explicare' (to unfold) — the opposite of 'complicate' (to fold together). Making clear what was hidden.
To analyze and develop an idea or principle in detail; to make clear and explicit.
From Latin 'explicātus,' past participle of 'explicāre' (to unfold, to unroll, to spread out, to disentangle), composed of 'ex-' (out) + 'plicāre' (to fold, to bend), from PIE *pleḱ- (to plait, to fold, to weave). The literal image is unfolding a scroll or unraveling a knot so that its contents become visible. The opposite is 'complicāre' (to fold together) — hence 'complicate,' which means to fold things into a tangle. 'Explicit' comes from the same participle: something explicit
'Explicit' and 'complicit' are exact antonyms at the etymological level — 'explicit' means 'folded out' (everything visible), 'complicit' means 'folded together with' (hidden partnership). Medieval scribes wrote 'EXPLICIT' at the end of manuscripts to signal the scroll had been fully 'unfolded' — literally, the text is now completely opened out.