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BOTRYOID (adj.)
Definition(s):
- (adj.) resembling a cluster of grapes
Useful information for game players:
- Front hooks: (none)
- Back hooks: (none)
- Anagrams: (none)
- Longer extensions: botryoidAL
- Wraparounds: (none)
- Other Spellings: (none)
- Related Forms: BOTRYOSE (adj.), BOTRYOIDAL (adj.), BOTRYTIS (n.)
Epilogue:
If you’re like me, you get a little thrill out of encountering unusual scrabble words in the wild. A few months ago while perusing the wares at a local arts and crafts show, a vendor referred to a BOTRYOIDAL gem in a piece of jewelry. “Ah,” I said, “shaped like a cluster of grapes.” The vendor gave me a funny look and stopped short for a moment — I don’t think he encountered many folks who knew the meaning of the word — before continuing on with his spiel. My wife just gave me that look of exasperation, the one that says “I can’t take you anywhere....”
The Greek botrys (“bunch of grapes”) is the root of English words such as BOTRYOID, BOTRYOIDAL, BOTRYOSE, and BOTRYTIS (a type of fungus having botryoidal spores). The ancient Greeks not only (seemingly) had a word for everything; sometimes they had several. Another Greek root, staphyle, also meaning roughly “bunch of grapes,” shows up in words such as STAPHYLINID (a type of beetle) and STAPHYLOCOCCUS (a group of bacteria that appear round and bunched together under a microscope).
Theme:
This week we’ll harvest a cluster of words pertaining to grapes
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