piceous

[ pis-ee-uhs, pahy-see-uhs ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling pitch.
2. inflammable; combustible.
3. Zoology. black or nearly black as pitch.

piceous

/ ˈpaɪsɪəs; ˈpɪsɪəs /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling pitch

Word History and Origins

Origin of piceous¹

1640–50; < Latin piceus made of pitch, equivalent to pice- (stem of pix ) pitch ² + -us adj. suffix; -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of piceous¹

C17: from Latin piceus, from pix pitch ²

Example Sentences

Black, with cinereous tomentum; antennæ rather stout; legs piceous; wings greyish; veins black; radial and cubital veins thick; radial vein extending to the fork of the subapical.

From Project Gutenberg

Piceous, slightly covered with cinereous tomentum.

From Project Gutenberg

Head with whitish tomentum, excepting the callus on the vertex and another on the front; mouth and antennæ black; scutellum tawny; abdomen beneath with two very broad testaceous stripes extending from the base to two-thirds of the length; legs dingy testaceous, femora and hind tibiæ partly piceous, hind femora thick, piceous, slightly chalybeous, armed with spines beneath; wings dark brown, cinereous towards the base; halteres testaceous.

From Project Gutenberg

Head testaceous, with a black dot on each side above and two more towards the mouth; antennæ black, testaceous at the base, second joint very long, arista white; thorax with four slender indistinct darker lines, pectus hoary; abdomen and legs tawny, tarsi piceous, hind femora denticulated; wings brownish cinereous, slightly testaceous along the costa; halteres testaceous.

From Project Gutenberg

Antennæ piceous, third joint short, arista plumose; scutellum somewhat ferruginous; tibiæ;, tarsi, and halteres tawny; wings slightly greyish, veins pale, discal transverse vein parted by much less than its length from the border and by nearly twice its length from the flexure of the præbrachial.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• sunless
• unlighted
• unlit