• dehiscent •
Pronunciation: dee-hi-sênt • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: 1. Gaping open, wide open. 2. (Botany) Bursting open at ripening to allow seeds to escape, as a plant with dehiscent pods.
Notes: Today's word is the adjective from the verb dehisce "to gape or burst open", as some seed pods, like those of the milkweed in the picture below, dehisce to release the seeds inside them. The noun is dehiscence. The trick is to remember the SC combination when spelling this word.
In Play: Although this word is used mostly in botany to describe seed pods and fruit, anything that can gape or pop open is potentially dehiscent: "The dehiscent mouth of Lydia Potts told Wendell that he probably shouldn't have told her his true age." And "anything" means anything: "Hiking to the top of Mount Upp, Lila found herself gazing into a lush, dehiscent valley below."
Word History: This word comes from the Latin verb dehiscere "to gape open" comprising de "from, out" + hiscere "to gape, yawn". Hiscere is a form of hiare "to yawn", whose past participle, hiatus, is pronounced [hai-ay-tês] in English and used in the sense of a blank space, break, or opening in a series. (Thanks and a tip of Dr. Goodword's hat to Katy Brezger, for bringing today's Good Word to his attention in the Alpha Agora, where you can suggest words, too.)
DEHISCENT
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DEHISCENT
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- Grand Panjandrum
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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OK, so maybe Tim won't . . ....and we'll all be just fine if Tim DOESN'T post a picture of this!This word and its forms are used extensively in surgery; e.g., "Mrs. Price's wound [surgical incision] has dehisced, so we'll have to take her back to the OR [operating room].[/b]
From Wound dehiscence (Picture provided by R P R Groenedijk, IJselland Hospital, Capille ad IJssel, Nederlands):
Click for picture
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Nah, I was thinking more of the adults. Children, the boys especially, would probably go looking for gross stuff. If I can get pictures of my ear from the doctor, I'll post them on my web site. I won't say much yet, but I could almost pass for a Star Trek character, but NOT a Vulcan.
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2578
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
- Location: Crownsville, MD
Let's say for the time being that Mike Tyson won't try THAT again!
All the gory details one of these days . . .
All the gory details one of these days . . .
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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