verdant

adjective ver·dant \ ˈvər-dᵊnt \

Definition of verdant

1 a :green in tint or color

b :green with growing plants

verdant fields

2 :unripe in experience or judgment :green 9a

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verdancy

play \ˈvər-dᵊn(t)-sē\ noun

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verdantly

play \ˈvər-dᵊnt-lē\ adverb

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Recent Examples of verdant from the Web

Backers envision something similar to Orlando’s Epcot rising from the verdant undergrowth.

— rebecca spalding, Bloomberg.com, "Bankrupt Caribbean Paradise Woos Chinese Tourists—and Their Cash," 30 Aug. 2017
In spring, the verdant green valleys and broad pastures look like rural Wisconsin.

— terri colby, chicagotribune.com, "Camels, casbahs and more make for a magical visit to Morocco," 28 Aug. 2017
That’s a shame when there are so many lush, verdant beer gardens, especially in the Golden State.

— peter rowe, sandiegouniontribune.com, "A toast to Coronado and Mike Hess breweries, celebrating anniversaries Saturday," 28 July 2017
Porto is another must-visit; from picnicking in Parque da Cidade do Porto to touring the verdant valleys of Douro.

— Daily Intelligencer, "The Best ‘Stopover’ You’ll Ever Build Into Your Travel Plans," 18 July 2017
Mr. Landau’s seven-decade career featured verdant artistic peaks — including his work for directors Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Tim Burton — and long stretches of arid desert.

— adam bernstein, Washington Post, "Martin Landau, Oscar-winning actor who played heroes and villains, dies at 89," 16 July 2017
Reeves’s vision of the aftermath, in Dawn, was so surprising and effective because of how verdant the world looked—with human influence receding, nature became overgrown and lush, and forests reclaimed all of the pitiful manmade infrastructure.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "War for the Planet of the Apes Is an Epic Slog," 12 July 2017
Divided into eight sections, the trail runs along Jordan's western border from the verdant farmlands of Um Qais in the north to the desert landscapes of the south, ending at the Red Sea.

— Smithsonian, "Discover more about the Land of Hospitality.," 6 July 2017
In the distance were open fields, forested hills, and the verdant wetlands of Bark Meadow Brook.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Wyndham Land Trust Hosts Summer Solstice Celebration," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'verdant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

English speakers have been using "verdant" as a ripe synonym of "green" since the late 16th century, and as a descriptive term for inexperienced or naive people since the 1820s. (By contrast, the more experienced "green" has colored our language since well before the 12th century, and was first applied to inexperienced people in the 1540s.) "Verdant" is derived from the Old French word for "green," vert, which in turn is from Latin virērē, meaning "to be green." Today, "vert" is used in English as a word for green forest vegetation and the heraldic color green. Another descendant of "virere" is the adjective virescent, meaning "beginning to be green."

Origin and Etymology of verdant

contracted from Medieval French verdoyant, from present participle of verdoyer "to be green, turn green," going back to Old French verdoier, from verd, vert "green" (going back to Latin viridis, from a base *wir-, whence virēre "to show green growth, be green" of uncertain origin) + -oier, factitive verb suffix, going back to Latin -idiāre, originally representing variant pronunciation (or spelling variant) of -izāre -ize

Note: Latin viridis and virēre have been linked to Lithuanian visti "to multiply, breed," veisti "to breed, rear," as well as to Old English wīse "sprout, stalk," Old High German wisa "meadow," though the semantic connections are vague enough to make this a very tenuous hypothesis.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1581

See Words from the same year