The Mult-Lingual Verdure

English speakers have had the use of the word verdure since the 14th century, when it made its way into Middle English from Anglo-French. Like the more common verdant, the word traces back to Latin virēre, meaning "to be green." Since the early 16th century, verdure has also been used to refer to a kind of tapestry with a design based on plant forms. The verdure that English speakers sometimes encounter on menus is Italian; in that language verdure refers to green vegetables or to vegetables in general (as in "fettuccine con verdure").

Examples of verdure in a Sentence

a good time to tour the wine country is when it is clothed with the verdure of midsummer a portrait of a fresh-faced teenage girl in all of her youthful verdure and irrepressible joie de vivre

Recent Examples on the Web Brussels sprouts make the delicious verdure pizza look like Christmas. — Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2021 The road was flanked by walls of dolomite, valley floors of grapevines and verdure. — New York Times, 10 Nov. 2021 The pizza that calls to me most, verdure, looks like Christmas. — Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021 And an acknowledgment of allegory: that a color could stand for a condition of verdure, ailing, on a planetary scale. — Gillian Osborne, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021 Raspberry Powder Roberto Toro, Chef at Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo in Sicily Chef Roberto Toro shares his personal interpretation of the traditional Sicilian dish of tubettini alle verdure e pecorino, which can be easily recreated at home. — Alisha Prakash, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2020 The Latin viridis evoked virility, virtue, and verdure. — John Patrick Leary, The New Republic, 25 Oct. 2019 Other eats Starting our meal was the verdure agro dulce ($13), a plate of yellow and purple cauliflower, romanesco, green beans, pine nuts and golden raisins sitting in a pool of a sweet vinegary sauce. — Lauren Delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, 14 July 2018 One, dripping in verdure, is that of the cocktail and oyster lounge Maison Premiere, in Williamsburg. — Neima Jahromi, The New Yorker, 8 June 2018

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