Schene

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An archaic adjective meaning beautiful, fair, or radiant in appearance, drawn from Middle English usage
2. Old-fashioned term describing something lovely to look at or shining with brightness, as used in early English writing
3. A dated word for something fair, bright, or pleasing to the eye, found mainly in older texts

Etymology: The Ancient Greek "skhoinos" originally meant a rush or reed, the kind of plant used for matting and baskets. It was also a unit of distance, which Greek writers used when measuring journeys. The Romans borrowed it as "schoenus" and kept both senses. The chain of borrowings explains the spelling and the Greek and Latin senses, but the sense "beautiful in appearance" does not come from the rush or the measure. Those earlier meanings tell us where the word's form came from, not how it came to mean beauty.

Synonyms: bright, fair, beautiful, shining, radiant

Antonyms: dim, dark, ugly, dull