nigrescent

[ nahy-gres-uhnt ]

adjective

1. tending toward black; blackish.

nigrescent

/ naɪˈɡrɛsənt /

adjective

1. blackish; dark

Derived Forms

• niˈgrescence, noun

Other Words From

• ni·grescence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigrescent¹

First recorded in 1745–55; from Latin nigrēscent- (stem of nigrēscēns, present participle of nigrēscere “to turn black, grow dark”), equivalent to nigr- (stem of niger ) “black” + -ēscent- verb suffix meaning “becoming”; -esce, -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of nigrescent¹

C18: from Latin nigrescere to grow black, from niger black; see Negro ¹

Example Sentences

Nigrescent, nī-gres′ent, adj. growing black or dark: approaching to blackness.—n.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a tale of the achievements of the black-shirted Italian legions who saved their country from Bolshevism, not of the occult and nigrescent rite of invoking devils.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bride elect held her head very erect; the red spots in her cheeks glowed like double peonies; her two thin curls, done in oil for the occasion, hung straight and stiff like pendant icicles nigrescent; her sparkling black eyes looked apparently into vacuity, while they were really beholding the acme of all her hopes.

From Project Gutenberg

Light fulvous on the face, middle of back and upper part of tail; cheeks, sides of neck and body, inner side, and most of the fore parts of the limbs, white; shoulder and haunch, and outside of the limbs nearly to the middle joint, mixed black and white; tail darker at the base above, largely tipped with white; lower parts nigrescent; ears black posteriorly; fur soft and fine as in V. montanus, altogether dissimilar from that of V. Bengalensis.

From Project Gutenberg