Word of the Day

: December 24, 2021

adventitious

adjective ad-ven-TISH-us

What It Means

Adventitious means "coming from another source," and it is used in formal writing. In botany, it means "arising or occurring sporadically in other than the usual location."

// In his biography, the artist states that most of his ideas came from within and were not adventitious.

// The tomato plant forms adventitious roots along its stem.

See the entry >

adventitious in Context

"Adventitious roots are roots that form on plant organs like stems, leaves and nodes of the plant. These roots are the ones that reach out to anchor the plant as well as find water and nutrients." — Campbell Vaughn, The Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle, 28 Jan. 2021

Did You Know?

Adventitious comes from Latin adventīcius, meaning "coming from outside," which, in turn, is from advenīre, "to arrive." The verb is the source of other English words, including advent, adventure, and avenue.