For me, it is always a pleasure to learn a new word. It is particularly nice when it is one that I could probably use in “normal” life and fills a gap where I had no word before. Today’s word is:
Petrichor
The Wikipedia entry sums it up rather well:
Petrichor ( ˈpɛtrɪkɔːr ) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil . The word is constructed from Greek petra (πέτρα), "rock", or petros (πέτρος), "stone", and īchōr (ἰχώρ), the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.
It seems that the smell is produced by Streptomyces bacteria that create geosmin. These bacteria are also used to create commercial antibiotics.
I particularly like the fact that word’s etymological origin is as interesting as the meaning.
Comments
Post a Comment