Thursday, September 11, 2008

Is that what it's called?

Over on CO-GrumpyGranny, Walhydra's longtime friend Igraine has shared a neat word she just discovered: senescence.

Grumpy Granny was typing a report on a 99-year-old patient in a nursing home. She came to the point where the doctor "was talking about the patient's state of mind and memory, and said he didn't exhibit any signs of Alzheimer's but his slight lack of memory was probably due to 'senescence'."

"Senescence, eh?" says Walhydra. "Sounds rather elegant."


She smirks, since she actually knows the word.

Grumpy Granny's concluding remarks went like this:

So, tomorrow, when I can't figure out what tasks I told G. I would accomplish, or when I can't remember where I put the car keys, or when I forget to put the Netflix video in the mailbox, I'll just say I'm feeling a little "senescent"....

Works for me!
"Works for me, too," says Walhydra.
se·nes·cence
Pronunciation: \si-'ne-sən(t)s\
Function: noun
Etymology: senescent, from Latin senescent-, senescens, present participle of senescere to grow old, from sen-, senex old
Date: 1695
1 : the state of being old : the process of becoming old
2 : the growth phase in a plant or plant part (as a leaf) from full maturity to death
— se·nes·cent \-sənt\ adjective
Blessèd Be.