Vapourous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Consisting of or resembling vapor, often light and airy in appearance
2. containing or emitting vapor, giving a sense of ethereal or misty qualities
3. characterized by a nebulous or insubstantial nature, as if floating in the air

Etymology: "Vapourous" is the British spelling of "vaporous," and its base is "vapour," borrowed into English from Latin "vapor," meaning steam, heat or exhalation. The Latin word was itself linked to the verb "vapere," to smoke or steam. Because the word came into English through Old French "vapeur," it carried this sense of rising, insubstantial moisture from the start. The adjective is built by adding the suffix "-ous," which turns a noun into a description of something that has or resembles that noun. A vapourous thing is therefore one that looks like vapour: thin, drifting, and hard to pin down. The sense has stayed remarkably stable, so the word still describes what it always did, a substance that seems to have little weight.

Synonyms: misty, foggy, hazy, cloudy, nebulous

Antonyms: clear, transparent, lucid, distinct