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albescent

American  
[al-bes-uhnt] / ælˈbɛs ənt /

adjective

  1. becoming white; whitish.


albescent British  
/ ælˈbɛsənt /

adjective

  1. shading into, growing, or becoming white

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • albescence noun

Etymology

Origin of albescent

1825–35; < Latin albēscent- (stem of albēscēns, present participle of albēscere ), equivalent to alb ( us ) white + -ēscent- -escent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It chiefly differs in the croup being blue instead of snow-white; but as Mr. Blyth informs me, the tint varies, being sometimes albescent.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. by Darwin, Charles

DESCRIPTION.—Above rusty brown; below rusty, more or less albescent; extremities pale, almost flesh-coloured; ears rather long; head rather elongated; tail equal to and sometimes exceeding head and body.

From Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon by Sterndale, Robert Armitage

It differs chiefly in the croup being blue instead of snow-white; but as Mr. Blyth informs me, the tint varies, being sometimes albescent.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication — Volume 1 by Darwin, Charles