Nigrescence
/nɪˈɡrɛsəns/noun
The process or state of becoming black or dark in color.
Did you know?Nigrescence is related to the alchemical term nigredo, the symbolic “blackening” stage associated with decomposition, darkness, and the beginning of transformation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ne-g-ro-
“Dark or black; a reconstructed root associated with the Latin color word niger”
Classical Latin
Latin
niger
“Black, dark, or dusky”
Classical Latin
Latin
nigrēscere
“To become black or grow dark”
Late Latin
Latin
nigrescentia
“The act or process of becoming black”
17th Century
English
nigrescence
“Blackening or becoming dark, used especially in scientific and descriptive writing”
Modern English
English
nigrescence
“The state or process of becoming black or dark”