Word of the Day

: August 19, 2007

virescent

adjective vuh-RESS-unt

What It Means

1 : beginning to be green : greenish

2 : developing or displaying the condition of becoming green due to the development of chloroplasts in plant organs (as petals) normally white or colored

virescent in Context

Buds formed on the bare trees, infusing the stark branches with a slight virescent tint.

Did You Know?

"Virescent" first appeared in English in 1826. It derives from the present participle of "virescere," a Latin verb meaning "to become green" and a form of another verb, "virēre," meaning "to be green." "Virēre" also gave us another adjective meaning green, "verdant," only the route to that adjective takes a stop at the Old French "verdoier" ("to be green"). "Virescent" has seen occasional general use, as when Thomas Hardy wrote, in his 1881 novel A Laodicean, of "[t]he summer . . . tipping every twig with a virescent yellow." But it is nowadays found most frequently in scientific contexts, especially those pertaining to botany.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.