adventitious

American  

[ad-vuhn-tish-uhs] / ˌæd vənˈtɪʃ əs /

adjective

1. associated with something by chance rather than as an integral part; extrinsic.

2. Botany, Zoology. appearing in an abnormal or unusual position or place, as a root.

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adventitious British  

/ ˌædvɛnˈtɪʃəs /

adjective

1. added or appearing accidentally or unexpectedly

2. (of a plant or animal part) developing in an abnormal position, as a root that grows from a stem

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Other Word Forms

• adventitiously adverb
• adventitiousness noun
• nonadventitious adjective
• nonadventitiously adverb
• nonadventitiousness noun

Etymology

Origin of adventitious

1595–1605; < Latin adventīcius literally, coming from without, external, equivalent to ad- ad- + ven- (stem of venīre to come) + -t ( us ) past participle suffix + -īcius -itious

Explanation

Adventitious is a word you use to talk about things that "just kind of happen," not because you are trying to do them, but because they just come along. Christopher Columbus's stumbling upon the Caribbean while searching for a new route to India was adventitious. When you make an adventitious rhyme while speaking, you might hear, "You're a poet, you didn't know it, your long feet show it."

Example Sentences

Some plants, however, also have adventitious roots, which emerge above the ground from the shoot.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Williams’s radiant sound and adventitious origins have made her a key figure in a diverse dawn for the solo guitar.

From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2021

A bud and adventitious root system form from the runner.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

But the most adventitious source of revenue was the North Sea – a source to which one Thatcherite would refer as "what we are using to finance unemployment".

From The Guardian • Apr. 20, 2013

Karhiders eat four solid meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, along with a lot of adventitious nibbling and gobbling in between.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin