Apricate
Submitted by splicer on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 01:52
To be in, or exposed to, sunlight.
This was a job for the OED. Neither the Oxford American (included in the Dictionary dashboard widget on my Mackertosh) nor the Merriam-Webster Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (the usually adequate dictionary kept on my Palm) had a listing for this word, introduced to me today by my father (thanks Dad!) by way of it's derivative adjective apricity. Luckily I have access to the OED through the San Francisco Public Library, even though my library card appears to be expired. Note to self: renew library card.
Comments
Apricity: the warmth of the
Apricity: the warmth of the sun in winter
Dad
This post was written in
This post was written in haste. Allow me to amend. Apricity is clearly a noun.
Cockeram's 1623 dictionary is OED's sole reference for apricity, which indeed reads «The warmeness of the Sunne in Winter». The listing for apricate doesn't mention Winter at all. My Collins Latin Gem dictionary similarly gives only «bask» and «sunny» in its listings for apricor and apricum. This makes me wonder where Cockeram got the more specific definition, whether it was by error or reflected a definition changed by usage. I'm sad to see no further citations in OED to clarify the usage of the time, rather than just the definition from one Seventeenth Century dictionary.