Vivaces

Part of speech: adjective, adverb

Definitions

1. A type of plant that is characterized by its ability to thrive and persist for several growing seasons
2. A botanical term referring to perennials that exhibit vigorous and hardy growth
3. Denoting species that maintain life through multiple cycles, often becoming resilient to environmental changes

Etymology: "Vivaces" is simply the plural of "vivace," so the real story belongs to the singular. That word arrived in English from Italian "vivace," meaning "brisk" or "lively," a term that musicians had already been using to describe a quick, spirited tempo. Its Italian ancestor traces back to Latin "vivax," which meant "lively, vigorous, energetic," and that in turn grows from "vivere," "to live," the same root behind "vital" and "vivid." The gardening sense is a later shift. The word moved from describing a lively pace or temperament to describing plants with the staying power to return year after year, a meaning that relies on the Latin idea of being full of life and persisting. Gardeners in the botanical world took a term about vigor and applied it to perennials that keep living rather than dying off after a single season.

Synonyms: lively, vivacious, energetic, spirited, brisk

Antonyms: lethargic, sluggish, dull, listless, inactive