Word of the Day

: July 20, 2009

adust

adjective uh-DUST

What It Means

: scorched, burned

adust in Context

The adust landscape of volcanic rock and sand can be particularly beautiful at sunset.

Did You Know?

"Adust" comes from Latin "adustus," the past participle of "adurere" ("to set fire to"), a verb formed from the Latin prefix "ad-" and the verb "urere" ("to burn"). It entered the English language in the early 15th century as a medical term related to the four bodily humors -- black bile, blood, phlegm, and yellow bile -- which were believed at the time to determine a person's health and temperament. "Adust" was used to describe a condition of the humors in which they supposedly became heated or combusted. Adust black bile in particular was believed to be a source of melancholy. The association with melancholy gave rise to an adjectival sense of "adust" meaning "of a gloomy appearance or disposition," but that sense is now considered archaic.