faculent / feculent
Sep. 30th, 2011 07:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordfaculent (FAK-yuh-luhnt) - adj., (obs., rare) giving forth light like a torch; bright, clear.
feculent (FEK-yuh-luhnt) - adj., foul with fecal matter; turbid, muddy.
Here's two words to not confuse with each other. Both are from Latin roots, the first from fax, torch, the second, feces, dregs. Both are startlingly old, from the mid-16th and mid-15th centuries, respectively, but one has hung on better than the other -- possibly because its metaphoric possibilities are more evident.
And that's the last of the doublets on my list -- back next week with the usual mix-and-match.
---L.
feculent (FEK-yuh-luhnt) - adj., foul with fecal matter; turbid, muddy.
Here's two words to not confuse with each other. Both are from Latin roots, the first from fax, torch, the second, feces, dregs. Both are startlingly old, from the mid-16th and mid-15th centuries, respectively, but one has hung on better than the other -- possibly because its metaphoric possibilities are more evident.
And that's the last of the doublets on my list -- back next week with the usual mix-and-match.
---L.
