xeric | Word of the Day

August 19, 2019 xeric [zeer-ik] adjective 1. of, relating to, or adapted to a dry environment. video How Did The Word "Bully" Used To Mean "Sweetheart"? ways-to-say 11 Unique Words Or Phrases For Wedding Vows And Toasts WORD OF THE DAY xeric continued... QUOTES At the island's opposite end is the Southeast Peninsula, a wilderness of salt ponds and xeric vegetation. -- Kenneth Brower, "Legacy Isles of the Caribbean," Islands, March 2003 ORIGIN Xeric is an adjective used in ecology, botany, and biology in general to characterize a very dry environment or an organism that can grow in such an environment. Xeric comes from Greek xērós "dry, withered," and it appears to be obviously related to the Greek noun xerón "dry land, mainland," but the long ē and the short e are problematic. If xērós and xerón are related, they will come from the Proto-Indo-European root kser- (also ksēr-) "dry," source of Latin serescere "to become dry," serēnitās "dry, bright, clear weather or sky" (English serenity), and serēnus "clear, cloudless, fine" (English serene). Xeric entered English in the first half of the 20th century. MORE FOR YOU 1 Spanish Expressions You May Have Overheard In Casual Conversations We've rounded up some less familiar Spanish terms abuzz in popular culture or conversation (you know, how people actually talk). A quick warning: There will be some strong language and adult content ahead. 2 Slang And Spelling Bees Influence Word Searches Over The Past Three Months Here are the top 10 most searched words over the past three months. 3 Why Is "Bisexual" Such A Charged Word In 2019? As the language around gender and sexuality broadens, what it means to be bisexual broadens, too—making it all the more important to attend to the health needs and outcomes for a growing population that is often overlooked when we talk about the LGBTQ community as a whole. 4 Exculpate, Mockumentary, Burpless, And Other Words That Trended On Dictionary.com This Past Week In this batch of trending words, we offer a "stirring" mix of 10 terms that trended (i.e., significantly increased by percentage measured against searches on the the previous day). 5 How The Letter "X" Creates More Gender-Neutral Language As our understanding of gender expands from the binary of male and female to include intersex, nonbinary, and transgender people, we are exploring new ways of describing gender identity and expression—and the letter X has the power to help. © 2019 Dictionary.com, LLC. ABOUT CONTACT You are subscribed to the Word of the Day as: matzom229@gmail.com Subscriber since: September 06, 2017 Unsubscribe Dictionary.com, LLC. 555 12th Street Suite 400 Oakland CA 94607 Manage your subscription Terms & Privacy