What colour is a verdant vesture?
It’s the same colour as a verdant pasture and a verdant forest. Verdant ultimately derives from the Latin word viridis, which means “green”.
So a ‘verdant vesture’ is a garment of green colour.
Because vegetation is green the word verdant has taken on the meaning of vegetation. Verdant fields may mean they are green or that they are lush with vegetation. Hence we sometimes see people talk about the verdant greenery, or the verdant, green jungle undergrowth. In such cases the sense of lush vegetation has displaced the notion of ‘green’ and so the word ‘green’ is also inserted.
The Irish, at least those who aren’t Orange, spend at least one day of the year clad in verdant array. The Irish wear green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.
Tags: latin word, logophile, meanings, st patrick, Vocabulary, words
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