pensile

Nov. 25th, 2013 07:13 am
prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (words are sexy)
[personal profile] prettygoodword
pensile (PEN-sail) - adj., hanging loosely, suspended; (of birds) building a hanging nest.


So not a synonym of pensive. I think of this as strictly applying to the object itself, such as an oriole nest, but apparently ornithologists really do use it for the oriole. Adopted around 1600 from Latin pēnsilis, from pēnsus, past participle of pendēre, to hang.

---L.

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