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Webster 1913 Edition


Marcescent

Mar-ces′cent

,
Adj.
[L.
marcescens
, p. pr. of
marcescere
to wither, decay, fr.
marcere
to wither, droop: cf. F.
marcescent
.]
(Bot.)
Withering without falling off; fading; decaying.

Webster 1828 Edition


Marcescent

MARCES'CENT

,
Adj.
[L. marcescens, marcesco.]
Withering; fading; decaying.

Definition 2024


marcescent

marcescent

English

Adjective

marcescent (not comparable)

  1. (botany, of an organ, such as a leaf or blossom; rarely also used figuratively) Withered, but still attached.
    • a. 1893, Edith M. Thomas, The Undertime of the Year, published in The Atlantic Monthly, volume 72 (October 1893), page 452:
      How often is the flower of human life marcescent, tenacious of its old estate when the blooming-time is past.
    • 1990, Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction, page 75:
      “But,” she answered, “granting that Mon Cul is a remarkable creature, that he is the elder statesman among monkeys, that his marcescent eyelids have opened upon sights and splendors about which the most romantic among us only dream, []
  2. (mycology) Able to revive when moistened.

Translations


Latin

Verb

marcescent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of marcescō