Puberulent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a soft, downy texture that often signifies youth or a developing phase in organisms can indicate specific growth stages in flora or fauna
2. Related to a fine, velvety layer, this term is usually applied to young plants or early life forms of various animals characterized by such a texture
3. Characterized by a surface covered with very fine, soft hairs that give a delicate texture

Etymology: "Puberulent" is a botanical and zoological adjective for a surface covered in a very fine, short, soft down. It comes from Latin "puberulentus," which is itself built from "puber," meaning "downy" or, in its other sense, "adult" (the same word gave English "puberty," since body hair was a sign of maturity), plus the suffix "-ulentus," meaning "abounding in." Put together, the sense is roughly "abounding in fine down." The suffix does most of the work here. "-ulentus" appears in other Latin adjectives describing abundance, such as "corpulentus" (full-bodied) and "purulentus" (full of pus), so "puberulent" is a straightforward formation that describes a surface thickly covered with tiny hairs too fine to be called true hairs. Its use is largely confined to scientific description, where precision about texture matters.

Synonyms: hairy, furry, downy