desinent

English

Etymology

From Latin desinens, present participle of desinere, desitum (“to leave off, cease”); de- + sinere (“to let, allow”).

Adjective

desinent (comparative more desinent, superlative most desinent)

1. (obsolete) Ending; forming an end; lowermost.
   • 1605, Ben Jonson, The Masque of Blackness:

     In front of this sea were placed six tritons, in moving and sprightly actions, their upper parts human, save that their hairs were blue, as partaking of the sea-colour: their desinent parts fish, mounted above their heads, and all varied in disposition.

Derived terms

• indesinent

 

References

• “desinent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• dentines, tennised

Latin

Verb

dēsinent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of dēsinō