piceous
/ˈpɪ.si.əs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to pitch (“a sticky, dark brown substance obtained from distilling turpentine or wood tar, or crude oil or tar”); having a quality like pitch.
Obsolete
adj
Resembling pitch in colour; a very dark brown.
Example Sentences
- "I do not therefore require of you to believe, that the ancient rocks and compact bodies were diſſolved, but that many new ones were formed by the deluge, which had incloſed the ſpoils of the ſea within them. […] What other rational account will you give of that ſhell of a nautilus, which was found buried in a ſtratum of a piceous ſubstance below the bed of the river Arbis, where Artaxerxes commanded a bridge to be built over it?"
- "Piciroſtris. Oblong, black: ſilvery-ſilky: ſnout half way and legs piceous."
- "The colour of the upper part is a mixture of yellowish-white and piceous disposed in dots, exactly resembling mosaic work, […]"
- "Abdomen with shining cinereous tomentum, and with five lines of piceous spots; […] Tibiæ piceous towards the tips; tarsi piceous."
- "Front and middle legs yellow, coxae black behind, femora piceous posteriorly; […]"
- "Agabus elongatus […] Legs rufous; metafemur piceous."
Etymology
From Latin piceus (“like pitch; pitch-black”) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives denoting possession or presence of a quality). Piceus is derived from pix (“pitch, tar”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peyH- (“fat; milk”)) + -eus (suffix forming adjectives indicating the sources of attributes). The English word is cognate with Italian piceo (“like pitch; of a dark brown colour”), Spanish piceo (“like pitch; of a dark brown colour”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɪ.si.əs/
- British English: /ˈpɪ.sɪ.əs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more piceous (comparative)
most piceous (superlative)