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rufescent

[roo-fes-uh nt]
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adjective
  1. somewhat reddish; tinged with red; rufous.
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Origin of rufescent

1810–20; < Latin rūfēscent- (stem of rūfēscēns, present participle of rūfēscere to redden), equivalent to rūf(us) red1, tawny + -ēsc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent
Related formsru·fes·cence, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

roseflamingmaroonglowingcardinalcrimsoncoralwinepinkcherrysanguinecarminebrickbloomingblushrustcopperrussetpucebittersweet

Examples from the Web for rufescent

Historical Examples

  • The gills are notched, crowded, pallid or rufescent, narrow.

    The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise

    M. E. Hard

  • The gills are annulato-adnexed, distant, rufescent with a yellow tinge.

  • The rufescent ant has lost even the very power of feeding itself.

    Falling in Love

    Grant Allen

  • Similar to No. 758, but back, tail, and flanks without brownish or rufescent tinge.

  • Above dusky slate colour with rufescent tips to the fur; beneath paler, with a faint rufous tinge about the breast (Jerdon).

British Dictionary definitions for rufescent

rufescent

adjective
  1. botany tinged with red or becoming red
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Derived Formsrufescence, noun

Word Origin

C19: from Latin rūfescere to grow reddish, from rūfus red, auburn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012