adventitious

English

WOTD – 20 October 2010

Growing unpredictably out from its main taproot and elsewhere, this plant has bushy adventitious roots.

Alternative forms

• adventicious (archaic)

Etymology

From Medieval Latin adventītius (“coming from abroad, extraneous”), a corruption of Latin adventīcius (“foreign, strange, accidental”), from adventus (“arrival, coming, approach, advent”) + -īcius (suffix forming adjectives), from adveniō (“to arrive”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæd.vənˈtɪʃ.əs/, /ˌæd.vɛnˈtɪʃ.əs/

• Audio (Northern California):

  (file)

Adjective

adventitious (comparative more adventitious, superlative most adventitious)

1. From an external source; not innate or inherent, foreign.

   Synonyms: extrinsic, exogenous

2. Accidental, additional, appearing casually.

   Synonyms: accidental, spontaneous, sporadic; see also Thesaurus:accidental

   • 1895, Alfred C. Haddon, Evolution in Art, pages 101–102:

     The discovery of the art of making pottery was probably in all cases adventitious, the clay being first used for some other purpose.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 30:

     The adventitious disappearance of those nearer the throne than the duke had, moreover, set tongues awagging.

3. (genetics, medicine) Not congenital; acquired.

   Synonym: acquired

4. (biology) Developing in an unusual place or from an unusual source.

   Coordinate term: ectopic

   • 1985, R. M. T. Dahlgren, H. T. Clifford, P. F. Yeo, The Families of the Monocotyledons, page 101:

     The Velloziaceae have evolved a woody stem which is covered with a layer of adventitious roots mingled with the fibres of the old leaf sheaths;

Derived terms

• adventitiously
• adventitiousness
• nonadventitious

 

Related terms

• adventitial
• adventition
• adventive
• adventively

 

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷem- (0 c, 50 e)

Translations

from an external source

• Catalan: exogen (ca)
• Czech: zanesený odjinud, adventivní
• French: acquis (fr), adventice (fr), exogène (fr)
• Hungarian: idegen (hu)
• Italian: esogeno (it)
• Portuguese: adventício (pt)
• Russian: вне́шний (ru) (vnéšnij), доба́вочный (ru) (dobávočnyj)
• Spanish: exógeno

accidental, additional, appearing casually

• Catalan: adventici
• Czech: náhodný (cs), přídavný, adventivní
• French: adventice (fr) , aléatoire (fr)
• Hungarian: alkalmi (hu), alkalomszerű (hu)
• Italian: aleatorio (it)
• Portuguese: adventício (pt)
• Russian: случа́йный (ru) (slučájnyj), непреднаме́ренный (ru) (neprednamérennyj); вспомога́тельный (ru) (vspomogátelʹnyj), доба́вочный (ru) (dobávočnyj), дополни́тельный (ru) (dopolnítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: aleatorio (es)

genetics, medicine: not congenital

• Catalan: aquirit
• French: acquis (fr)
• Italian: acquisito (it)
• Spanish: adquirido (es)

biology: developing in an unusual place or from an unusual source

• Catalan: adventici, ectòpic
• Czech: adventivní
• French: ectopique (fr), auxiliaire (fr), adventice (fr)
• Hungarian: adventív, tájidegen
• Irish: aidbhinteach
• Italian: ectopico, ausiliario (it), avventizio (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: adventiv

• Persian: نابجا (fa) (nâbejâ)
• Portuguese: adventício (pt)
• Spanish: ectópico, adventicio (es), auxiliar (es)
• Tagalog: saanman

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: добавъчен (bg) (dobavǎčen), добавен отвън (dobaven otvǎn), придобит (bg) (pridobit)
• Japanese: 偶然的な, Botany: 異常な位置に生じた
• Korean: 우연적인 (uyeonjeogin), Botany: 이상한 곳에서 발생하는