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Word of the Week (110): SEGETAL (probability 3191), by David Sutton

SEGETAL means growing in fields of grain, like the poppy and cornflower. Since it has no fewer than five anagrams (EAGLETS, GELATES, LEGATES, TEAGLES and TELEGAS) it is probably one of the least used of the high probability sevens, but you never know when only a word starting with S is going to fit.

There are several other words relating to plant habit. RUDERAL means growing on waste ground, and this can also be used as a noun. Others are adjectival only: GLAREAL means growing on bare ground or gravel; AGRESTAL (or AGRESTIAL) means growing wild in cultivated ground; PASCUAL means growing on land used for grazing; SYLVESTRAL means growing in woods or bushy places; SUBARBOREAL means growing under trees; EPILITHIC means growing on the surface of rock.


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