verdant

adjective

ver·​dant ˈvər-dᵊnt 

1

a

: green in tint or color

b

: green with growing plants

verdant fields

2

: unripe in experience or judgment : green sense 5a

verdancy

ˈvər-dᵊn(t)-sē 

noun

verdantly

ˈvər-dᵊnt-lē 

adverb

Did you know?

English speakers have been using verdant as a ripe synonym of green since at least the 16th century, and as a descriptive term for inexperienced or naïve people since the 19th century. (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 16th century.) Verdant comes from the Old French word for "green," vert, which itself is from Latin virēre, meaning "to show green growth" or "to be green." Today, vert is used in English as a word for green forest vegetation and the heraldic color green. A related word is virescent, meaning "beginning to be green."

Synonyms

• green
• grown
• leafy
• lush
• luxuriant
• overgrown

Examples of verdant in a Sentence

a beautiful, verdant field

Recent Examples on the Web

Against the gray sky, the verdant greens, grays and browns of the landscape stand out along the roadside. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

Designed by the architect behind Le Royal Mansour in Marrakech, this villa called Wings on Virgin Gorda’s Oil Nut Bay sleeps up to 18 people and features pod-like structures tiered along the verdant hillside. —Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 30 Oct. 2024

From the meandering cobblestone streets of historic Gamla Stan, the city's picturesque old town, to the verdant greenery of Djurgården, home to some of Stockholm's (and Northern Europe’s) most iconic museums, every corner of this city has a special story to tell. —Sandra MacGregor, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024

While Halifax’s proximity to the ocean make the city a destination for seafood, the province also produces a colorful bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as biodynamic wines in the verdant Annapolis Valley. —Anna Haines, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

contracted from Middle 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.

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

verdant

adjective

ver·​dant ˈvərd-ᵊnt 

: green with growing plants

verdant fields

verdantly adverb