Word of the Day

: July 25, 2007

caducity

noun kuh-DOO-suh-tee

What It Means

1 : senility

2 : the quality of being transitory or perishable

caducity in Context

"Awareness of death -- a vivid realization of the caducity of life and its joys and miseries -- provides the strongest motive for metaphysics." (F. Gonzalez-Crussi, The New Yorker, November 1, 1993)

Did You Know?

"Caducity" derives by way of the French "caduc," meaning "transitory," from the Latin "caducus," meaning "tending to fall," a product of the verb "cadere," meaning "to fall." Words that share the "cadere" root with "caducity" include "accident," "coincide," "cadaver," and "chance." "Caducity" usually refers to the fleeting or perishable nature of something. More specifically, it can refer to the perishable nature of cognitive abilities and can be used as a synonym of senility. Both senses of the word first appeared in English in the second half of the 18th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.