Suffusing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Passing gradually all through or over something, filling it with light, color, or emotion
2. Extending gently across an area or object so that it seems filled or covered
3. Flowing throughout something subtly, often producing a glow, tint, or feeling

Etymology: "Suffusing" is the present participle of "suffuse," which comes from Latin "suffundere," meaning "to pour under or over." The Latin verb combines "sub-," "under," with "fundere," "to pour," a root that also gave English "fuse" and "fusion." The original image is physical: liquid flowing beneath or over something until it covers it. English took the verb over with that liquid sense intact, so early uses describe fluids or light spreading across a surface. Over time it moved from the literal to the figurative, so a blush, a colour, or a feeling can now be said to suffuse a face, a room, or a mood. The "gently" in the meaning you're working with comes from that softer, diffusing sense of the idea rather than from anything in the Latin itself.

Synonyms: permeating, spreading