palustral

English

WOTD – 30 April 2011

Etymology

From Latin palustris, from palūs (“swamp”), -al.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pəˈlʌstɹəl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pəˈlʌstɹəl/

Adjective

palustral (comparative more palustral, superlative most palustral)

1. Pertaining to or located in marshes; marshy.
   • 1958, Sylvia Plath, Frog Autumn’:

     The insects are scant, skinny. / In these palustral homes we only / Croak and wither.

   • 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:

     Its archaic handsomeness, nemoral and chthonic, is the palustral involution of the vagina folded out and distended, cave become tower, as elegant a morphology as the spreading of the conifer leaf into oak and elm.

2. (botany, of a plant) That requires a marshy habitat.
   • 1956, Robert Leslie Usinger, Aquatic Insects of California, page 145:

     Telebasis salva is found in shallow waters containing palustral vegetation.

Synonyms

• palustrine, boggy, paludal, swampy; see also Thesaurus:marshy

Translations

Pertaining to or living in marshes; marshy

• Portuguese: palustre (pt)
• Russian: болотный (ru) (bolotnyj)
• Spanish: palustre (es)

Anagrams

• plaustral