Word of the Day

: March 26, 2008

sericeous

adjective suh-RISH-us

What It Means

: covered with fine silky hair

sericeous in Context

The shapes of the aster's sericeous leaves range from lanceolate or oblong to broadly elliptic.

Did You Know?

In the writings of the ancient Greeks, there is mention of the Sēres, an eastern Asian people who made "sērikos" fabrics. Historians now believe that the Sēres were the Chinese, from whom the ancient Greeks first obtained silk. The ancient Romans wove the Sēres' name into their language, creating "sericum," the Latin word for silk. The English word "silk" is also assumed to be spun -- with some very dramatic alterations from Old English to Middle English -- from the same Greek fiber. Both "silk" and "silken" have been in the English language for many, many centuries, but scientists of the 18th century wanted a new term to describe the silky hairs on some leaves and bodies, and so they adapted the Late Latin word "sericeus" ("silken") to create "sericeous."