Wiktionary

adventitious

English

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WOTD – 20 October 2010
Wikipedia
 
Growing unpredictably out from its main taproot and elsewhere, this plant has bushy adventitious roots.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Medieval Latin adventītius (“coming from abroad, extraneous”), a corruption of Latin adventīcius (“foreign, strange, accidental”), from adventus (“arrival, coming, approach, advent”) + -īcius (suffix forming adjectives), from adveniō (“to arrive”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns).[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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adventitious (comparative more adventitious, superlative most adventitious)

  1. From an external source; not innate or inherent, foreign.
    Synonyms: extrinsic, exogenous
  2. Accidental, additional, appearing casually.
    Synonyms: accidental, spontaneous, sporadic; incidental, coincidental, fortuitous, serendipitous; see also Thesaurus:accidental
    • 1981, Robert Alter, “A Literary Approach to the Bible”, in The Art of Biblical Narrative, page 6:
      In a triad of verbs that admits nothing adventitious, Judah sees, takes, and lies with a woman; […]
    • 1895, Alfred C. Haddon, Evolution in Art, pages 101–102:
      The discovery of the art of making pottery was probably in all cases adventitious, the clay being first used for some other purpose.
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 30:
      The adventitious disappearance of those nearer the throne than the duke had, moreover, set tongues awagging.
  3. (genetics, medicine) Not congenital; acquired.
    Synonym: acquired
  4. (biology) Developing in an unusual place or from an unusual source.
    Coordinate term: ectopic
    • 1985, R. M. T. Dahlgren, H. T. Clifford, P. F. Yeo, The Families of the Monocotyledons, page 101:
      The Velloziaceae have evolved a woody stem which is covered with a layer of adventitious roots mingled with the fibres of the old leaf sheaths;

Derived terms

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English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷem- (0 c, 78 e)

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “adventitious (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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