effloresce

[ef-luh-res]

verb (used without object)

effloresced, efflorescing 

1. to burst into bloom; blossom.

2. Chemistry.

   1. to change either throughout or on the surface to a mealy or powdery substance upon exposure to air, as a crystalline substance through loss of water of crystallization.

   2. to become incrusted or covered with crystals of salt or the like through evaporation or chemical change.

effloresce

/ ˌɛflɔːˈrɛs /

verb

1. to burst forth into or as if into flower; bloom

2. to become powdery by loss of water or crystallization

3. to become encrusted with powder or crystals as a result of chemical change or the evaporation of a solution

Word History and Origins

Origin of effloresce¹

1765–75; < Latin efflōrēscere to blossom out, equivalent to ef- ef- + flōrēscere to begin to bloom ( flōr ( i )-, stem of flōs flower + -ēscere -esce )

Word History and Origins

Origin of effloresce¹

C18: from Latin efflōrēscere to blossom, from flōrēscere, from flōs flower

Example Sentences

The written-out trills of the 28th Variation effloresced with a mild gleam, and the fughetta of the 10th hit the ear with a tonal wall of sound.

From New York Times

Standing in front of the mural’s various sections causes them to effloresce with color which in turn unlocks a door at the end of the chamber.

From Washington Post

Two decades later the image would effloresce in the story/novella “Cousins”:

From New York Times

As the humidity decreases again, the salts effloresce, releasing the water vapor back into the atmosphere.

From Scientific American

A variety of shale or clay slate, containing iron pyrites, the decomposition of which leads to the formation of alum, which often effloresces on the rock.

From Project Gutenberg