Apedia

Virescent Adjective Meaning April Vuh Ress Unt Appeared English Derives

Virescent means beginning to turn green or having a greenish appearance.

Virescent means beginning to be green or having a greenish tint.

Word virescent
Date April 8, 2014
Type adjective
Syllables vuh-RESS-unt
Etymology "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 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.
Examples Buds formed on the bare trees, infusing the stark branches with a slight virescent tint.

"While Heisman Trophy winner and National Football League quarterback Tim Tebow read 'Green Eggs and Ham,' during Dr. Seuss Week, Lincoln Elementary kindergarten teacher Mary Jo Bures quietly slipped away to a meeting. None of the kindergartners noticed, their eyes fixated on the screen, their ears absorbing the story of Sam I Am and his never wavering quest to get the narrator to try the virescent foods." - From an article by Chris Dunker in the Beatrice Daily Sun (Nebraska), February 25, 2014
Definition : beginning to be green : greenish

Tags: wordoftheday::adjective

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