flocculent

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skinem
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flocculent

Postby skinem » Sat Dec 16, 2006 11:22 am

floc·cu·lent

Pronunciation: 'flä-ky&-l&nt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin floccus + English -ulent
1 : resembling wool especially in loose fluffy organization
2 : containing, consisting of, or occurring in the form of loosely aggregated particles or soft flakes <a flocculent precipitate>

Bailey
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Postby Bailey » Sat Dec 16, 2006 7:44 pm

I wonder if there's any relation here to
flat·u·lence (flch-lns)
n.
1. The presence of excessive gas in the digestive tract.
2. Self-importance; pomposity.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Actually I really like the fluffy word better.

mark gassed-up Bailey

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tcward
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Postby tcward » Sat Dec 16, 2006 8:31 pm

I was wondering if there could be any relationship between flocculent and flock... but apparently they are not.
flock (n.)
O.E. flocc "a group of persons," related to O.N. flokkr "crowd, troop, band," M.L.G. vlocke "crowd, flock;" not found in other Gmc. languages, perhaps related to folc "people," but the metathesis would have been unusual for O.E. Extended c.1200 to "a number of animals of one kind moving or feeding together;" of domestic animals c.1300. Transferred to bodies of Christians, in relation to Christ or their local pastor, from c.1340. The verb meaning "to gather, congregate" is from c.1300.
-Tim

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gailr
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Postby gailr » Sat Dec 16, 2006 9:17 pm

There's a usage missing in that definition, Tim, where flock is clearly derived from flocculent.

*cues Bing* I'mmmmm...drea-ming of a white...Christ...mas...flocked reindeer ornaments white like snoooooooow....

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Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:09 pm

Time to make like a treatment plant and get the floc out of here ...
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Perry
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Postby Perry » Mon Dec 18, 2006 9:56 pm

Nice word. But flocky-blocky doesn't have the same ring as Wooly Bully.
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