Adventitious

 WORD OF THE DAY

adventitious / adjective / ad-ven-TISH-us

Definition

1: coming from another source and not inherent or innate

2: arising or occurring sporadically or in other than the usual location

Examples

"Adventitious roots are roots that form on plant organs like stems, leaves and nodes of the plant. These roots are the ones that reach out to anchor the plant as well as find water and nutrients." 

— Campbell Vaughn, The Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle, 28 Jan. 2021

This can also occur when trees are planted too deep, as adventitious (growing sideways from the stem) roots grow against the stem and squeeze the sapwood.

— Rebecca Jepsen, The Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2019

 

Did You Know?

Adventitious is an adventitious word: it comes to English from the Latin adventicius, meaning "coming from outside." 

This, in turn, comes from "adventus," the past participle of the verb advenire, meaning "to arrive" or "to happen." 

That verb is also a source of several other English words, including "advent" (which, in its uncapitalized form, can refer to any coming or arrival), "adventure" (a word whose earliest sense was "chance happening"), and "avenue" (a means of arrival).