virescent

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The Word of the Day for August 19 is:

virescent   \vuh-RESS-unt\   adjective
    *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 

Example sentence: 
     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, "virere," meaning "to be green." "Virere" 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.






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