effloresce
VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (3)effloresced, efflorescing
- come into or as if into flower“These manifestations effloresced in the past”Synonyms: burst forthMore general bloom, blossom
- assume crystalline form; become crystallizedSynonyms: crystallizecrystalizecrystaliseMore general solidifyMore specific devitrify
- become encrusted with crystals due to evaporationMore general encrust, incrust
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: L. efflorescere to bloom, blossom; ex + florescere to begin to blossom, incho., fr. florere to blossom, fr. flos a flower. See Flower.
1. To blossom forth. Thomas Carlyle
2. Chemistry To change on the surface, or throughout, to a whitish, mealy, or crystalline powder, from a gradual decomposition, esp. from the loss of water, on simple exposure to the air; as, Glauber's salts, and many others, effloresce.
3. To become covered with a whitish crust or light crystallization, from a slow chemical change between some of the ingredients of the matter covered and an acid proceeding commonly from an external source; as, the walls of limestone caverns sometimes effloresce with nitrate of calcium in consequence of the action of nitric acid formed in the atmosphere.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54