Caducity means senility or the quality of being transitory or perishable, derived from the Latin verb 'cadere' meaning 'to fall'.
Caducity refers to senility or the quality of being transitory or perishable. The word comes from the Latin 'cadere' meaning 'to fall', indicating a tendency to fall or decay.
| Word | caducity |
|---|---|
| Date | July 25, 2007 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | kuh-DOO-suh-tee |
| Etymology | "Caducity" derives by way of the French "caduc," meaning "transitory," from the Latin "caducus," meaning "tending to fall," a product of the verb "cadere," meaning "to fall." Words that share the "cadere" root with "caducity" include "accident," "coincide," "cadaver," and "chance." "Caducity" usually refers to the fleeting or perishable nature of something. More specifically, it can refer to the perishable nature of cognitive abilities and can be used as a synonym of senility. Both senses of the word first appeared in English in the second half of the 18th century. *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
| Examples | "Awareness of death -- a vivid realization of the caducity of life and its joys and miseries -- provides the strongest motive for metaphysics." (F. Gonzalez-Crussi, The New Yorker, November 1, 1993) |
| Definition | 1 : senility 2 : the quality of being transitory or perishable |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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