elisi: (Metaphors by promethia_tenk)
elisi ([personal profile] elisi) wrote2012-01-22 09:08 am
Entry tags:

For promethia, lonewytch, janie_aire et al.

Petrichor is the scent of rain on dry earth. The word is constructed from Greek, petra, meaning stone + ichor, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.

The term was coined in 1964 by two Australian researchers, Bear and Thomas, for an article in the journal Nature. In the article, the authors describe how the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is absorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, producing the distinctive scent. In a follow-up paper, Bear and Thomas (1965) showed that the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth.

"Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?"
"So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober. Which accounts for my talking so much."
Gaudy Night

The family watched The Doctor's Wife last night, and afterwards Darcy came up to me and began talking about what a neat word 'petrichor' was and where the meaning came from. I'm sure you can see why I had to share.

(Oh and I changed my banner, because... Well, you can't go wrong with a well-placed Princess Bride quote! *g* Spoilers for the DW S6 finale, I guess, although they're pretty vague.)
owlboy: (DW - River's diary)

[personal profile] owlboy 2012-01-22 11:05 am (UTC)(link)
Omg, so I'm not the only one who thought that quote fit Doctor/River :D Moffat is a big Princess Bride fan apparently [he's talked about it on Twitter]

Woooords. I've been learning new languages all day, it's addictive. I must know ALL the words.

[identity profile] janie-aire.livejournal.com 2012-01-22 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Words make me happy.

I've taken to keeping a list of words that strike my fancy as I stumble across them. Not just exotic truffles a la petrichor, but stalwart nouns like smock, cluster, wafer, and rind; constellations of lush adjectives: mammoth, rumpled, slick, and bulging; coteries of verbs sprouted and loafed, strayed and dovetailed, spouting fire with their flaming tongues.

I long for the day when "apocryphal" enters the canon of Eleven's dialogue.
promethia_tenk: (snow)

[personal profile] promethia_tenk 2012-01-23 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
I knew I liked you.
owlboy: (Default)

[personal profile] owlboy 2012-01-23 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
I wish I had more opportunities to use the words "syzygy", "exiguous" and "quockerwodger"...
promethia_tenk: (Default)

[personal profile] promethia_tenk 2012-01-23 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods // In a follow-up paper, Bear and Thomas (1965) showed that the oil retards seed germination and early plant growth.

Innnteresting. Wonder if there's a purpose for that.
promethia_tenk: (Default)

[personal profile] promethia_tenk 2012-01-24 11:43 am (UTC)(link)
Ah. I meant to the plant. Why put off germination after a dry spell?
promethia_tenk: (Default)

[personal profile] promethia_tenk 2012-01-29 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
. . . and Wikipedia is not being forthcoming. Boooo.

Inquiring minds want to know!