Make Your Point > Archived Issues > SENESCENCE

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explore the archives: Someone youthful, or someone who seems to grow younger, is ju___escent. A person growing into an adult is an adolescent. And a person growing old is senescent. So, what does "-escent" mean? (The answer is near the bottom of the page for ju___escent, under "Exploring the archives.") Could you use the meaning of "-escent" to explain what a musical crescendo is, or why we call this a crescent moon? make your point with... "SENESCENCE" (This word comes from the Latin senex, meaning "old man," the same root that gave us "senile," "senior," and even "senator.") Senescence is old age or the process of growing old. Pronunciation: sih NESS unce (rhymes with "in essence") Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "education," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of education," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many educations." Likewise, talk about "the senescence," "this senescence," "his senescence," "such senescence," "no senescence," and so on, but don’t say "a senescence," "one senescence," or "senescences.") Other forms: The verb is "senesce." To senesce is to get older. The adjective is "senescent." Senescent people and things are aging. Many dictionaries don't recognize the adverb "senescently." Some people do use it, but it's rare and a bit awkward. How to use it: This is a formal, serious word. We use it abstractly for everyday writing and speech, but we also see it in biological contexts. When you don't need to be formal and you think the phrase "old age" would work just fine, then I say pick that instead of "senescence."  Talk about someone's senescence or something's senescence: his senescence, her senescence, their senescence, its senescence. Or just talk about senescence in general, like you do for youth, adulthood, and old age. We blame aches and pains and problems and failures on our senescence, we delay retirement until we're long into senescence, we see how senescence has softened Grandma's personality, and so on. We can enter senescence (or perhaps shuffle into senescence or be dragged flailing and cursing into senescence), transcend our senescence, and delay, reverse, or vanquish senescence--or just dream of it. Although it's common to talk about people's senescence--both individually and in groups, as in "the senescence of Florida's population"--we can also talk about the senescence of animals, plants (such as flowers and fruits), processes, ideas, technologies, etc. And if you're talking about ideas and technologies that are not just growing old but inevitably dying out, consider picking obsolescent instead. examples: Pseudo-scientific commercials for beauty products are more than an annoyance; they're an attempt to dupe consumers willing to believe that lotion will vanquish senescence. In Hilo, we first stayed in a senescent condo with popcorn ceilings and an elevator that wheezed. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "senescence" means when you can explain it without saying "the state or process of growing old" or "deterioration." try it out: Fill in the blank: "(Something) isn't dead yet. It's just senescent." Example: "Geocities isn't dead yet. It's just senescent." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is called "Cousins or Strangers?" Consider two pairs of similar-looking words, and figure out which pair are truly related, like cousins, and which pair are unrelated, like strangers. "Related," of course, is a relative concept (ha ha). We're interested in closeness: "compute" and "computer" are sisters, or variations of the same word; "vision" and "video" are cousins, sharing the same Latin root; but "compute" and "video" are strangers. From our previous issue: Pair A: PENSIVE and EXPENSIVE. These are the cousins, both from the Latin pendere, meaning "to hang, to weigh, or to pay." Why did the same verb express such distinct ideas? I asked a Latin language expert, who explained that Roman transactions involved weighing their money. Pendere, then, could mean "to weigh (money) as payment." Pair B: PARSNIP and PARSLEY. These are the strangers. We got "parsnip" from the Latin pastinum, a two-pronged utensil that, I'm told, resembles the root of the parsnip. And we got "parsley" from Greek roots that literally mean "rock celery." (Parsley grows well on rocks.) Ready to check out two more pairs? Remember, one pair will be cousins; the other, strangers. Which is which? Pair A: POND and PONDER Pair B: VIA and TRIVIA review today's word: 1. A close opposite of SENESCENCE is A. OPEN-HANDEDNESS B. BRAGGADOCIO C. VERNALITY 2. In college, she hadn't so much matured as senesced: she _____. A. bar-hopped until 2:00 even on nights before exams B. started seeing failures not as bruises to the ego but as opportunities to improve C. fumed over the decline in kids' morals and the rise in costs of gasoline and groceries Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C