virescent: M-W's Word of the Day

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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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