This week’s theme
Words one letter apart

This week’s words
incubous


Previous week’s theme
Words one letter apart

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(IN-kyuh-buhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Arranged so that each part overlaps the one above it (the reverse of how roof shingles are laid).

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin incubare (to lie upon), from in- (upon) + cubare (to lie). Earliest documented use: 1857.

NOTES:

If incubus has his counterpart succubus, sure enough incubous has succubous. The words are often used to describe the arrangement of leaves on a stem, in particular in liverwort plants.

If you laid your roof shingles in an incubous fashion, your house wouldn’t be haunted by demons, but it would definitely be haunted by a very large water damage repair bill.

In botany, no demons. Just polite leaves deciding who tucks under whom. Same Latin root, vastly better manners.

USAGE:

“Her eyes rounded. ‘The much-travelled, oft-published naturalist fails to recognize Bazzania trilobata from its incubous leaf arrangement? Oh, my goodness. To whom can a poor country girl turn for reliable botanical guidance?”
Avi Sirlin; The Evolutionist: The Strange Tale of Alfred Russel Wallace; Aurora Metro Books; 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: