Flocculent

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Dr. Goodword
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Flocculent

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Oct 08, 2020 6:31 pm

• flocculent •


Pronunciation: flahk-yê-lênt • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Fluffy, wooly, having or resembling tufts of wool. 2. Having a loosely clumped texture, like aggregated particles or flakes.

Notes: The only thing to look out for in spelling this word is the double C, not pronounced [ks] as in occipital. It comes with an adverb, flocculently, and a noun, flocculence. a chemical agent that makes particles clump together is known as a flocculant, with an A, not an E.

In Play: The original meaning of today's word was "wooly": "The wind blew the flocculent white hair of octogenarian Jerry Attrick so that he appeared to have a nest of seagulls on his head." The second sense of today's word is used mostly in the sciences: "The nebula fairly resembles the wing of a bird consisting of flocculent masses of dust and other particles."

Word History: Today's Good Word is a combination of Latin floccus "lock, tuft" + the English version of the Latin suffix -ulentus "having much". Most Indo-European etymologists have given up searching for the origin of floccus. This leaves the field open for speculation. Now, the PIE word for "fleece" was pek-/pok- with no [l]. However, the word for "flake, feather, hair" was pleuk-. The sound [p] begat [f] only in Germanic languages, so Latin could have come by this sound only if it borrowed the word from a Proto-Germanic language—not a far-fetched idea. English has remnants of the PIE word in flock and flake. One of flock's meanings is "a rag, tuft of wool" and sheep are known as animals that flock together. I will stop here but, if there is interest, we can continue this etymology in the Agora. (Today's fascinating Good Word was yet another gift of George Kovac, who practices law in Miami, Florida.)
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gwray
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Re: Flocculent

Postby gwray » Fri Oct 09, 2020 7:40 am

I once took a tour of a water purification plant. One stage of the purification was called agglomeration and flocculation in which microscopic contaminants were aggregated into wool like tufts which could then be filtered out.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver Proverbs 25:11

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Re: Flocculent

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:11 am

The chemical agent they use to do that is called a "flocculant".
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damoge
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Re: Flocculent

Postby damoge » Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:09 pm

"The wind blew the flocculent white hair of octogenarian Jerry Attrick so that he appeared to have a nest of seagulls on his head."

OH!! Dear Doctor! How very beautifully put.
I can see them, struggling to retain foothold.

P.S. How about flocked wall paper? Most especially, crimson on black, the pride (I'm told) of New Orleans bordellos of the last century.
Everything works out, one way or another


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