Thursday word: avenaceous

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

avenaceous (av-uh-NAY-shuhs) - adj., of, pertaining to, or resembling oats or the oat grasses.


Yes, English really does shift meanings so finely -- not only do we have cereal, meaning of/pertaining/resembling grains in general, but we have words for of/pertaining/resembling specific grains, such as for frumentaceous for wheat, hordeaceous for barley, and this one for oats. It was adopted around 1770 from Latin avēnāceus, which is avēna, oats + an adjectival ending.

I descended the staircase to break my fast with a piping-hot avenaceous repast.

---L.

Comments

[med_cat]

Very interesting, not heard any of these words before.

Thanks for sharing!

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Can't say I've seen any but avenaceous in the wild, and that very rarely. Like, once.

---L.

[med_cat]

Makes sense; I imagine these words are used in botany and/or agriculture?

P.S. And thanks for the etymology, now I see why the oatmeal bath powder's brand name is "Aveeno" ;)

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

Largely, I think.

And yeah, that would explain the name!

---L.

[med_cat]

:)