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XEROSIS (n. pl. XEROSES)
Definition(s):
- (n.) abnormal dryness of a body part of tissue
Useful information for game players:
- Front hooks: (none)
- Back hooks: (none)
- Anagrams: (none)
- Longer extensions: (none)
- Wraparounds: (none)
- Other Spellings: (none)
- Related Forms: XEROTIC (adj.)
Epilogue:
The Greek xeros (“dry”) is a part of many English words pertaining to dryness, as the following selections will illustrate.
Among the more specific forms of anatomical XEROSIS are XERODERMA, “abnormal dryness of the skin,” and XEROPHTHALMIA, “abnormal dryness of the eye.”
In the botanical world, a XEROPHILE or XEROPHYTE is “a plant adapted to living in a dry habitat and requiring little water” and PHYLLOXERA is “any of several plant lice that produce galls on the leaves and roots of certain grape vines.”
Turning to the office, the word XEROX — coined as a company name and now used as a common verb — was formed after the slightly younger word XEROGRAPHY (“a dry copying process; photocopying”).
In ecological circles, you might run into XERIC (“requiring only a small amount of moisture”), XEROSERE (“a succession of ecological communities originating in a dry habitat”), and XERARCH (“of a plant succession having its origin in a dry habitat”). Or, if you live in the southwestern United States, you might have encountered the word XEROTHERMIC, which means “characterized by heat and dryness.” In such a climate, one might use XERISCAPE, “a landscaping method developed for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water conservation techniques.”
There’s also an African ground squirrel called a XERUS, so named on account of the spiny, dry texture of its hair. It lives in burrow communities, similar to prairie dogs, and is a cute little devil.
Our well is running dry (that's just a little dry humor), so that is enough for now. Friday we will wrap up this excellent and exciting week of X words.
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