Thursday word: lucifugous

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

lucifugous (lu-SI-fyu-juhs) - adj., avoiding or shunning light.


So not just a twenty-dollar word for "nocturnal," though it can be used for that as well. Most traditional vampires are lucifuguous. Borrowed in the 1650s from Latin lucifugus, from lux, light + fugere, to flee + adjectival ending. Think a fugitive from light, if that helps.

I flicked on the kitchen light and stopped in shock as lucifuguous cockroaches scrambled under the counters.

---L.