verdure

plural verdures

1. countableuncountableThe greenness of lush or growing vegetation (greenery); also: the vegetation itself.

   […] now he was / The ivy which had hid my princely trunk, / And suck'd my verdure out on't.

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

   4 more examples

   The five weeks which she had now passed in Kent had made a great difference in the country, and every day was adding to the verdure of the early trees.

   1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

   To her belonged Amber Spring, the water which gave verdure and beauty to the village and made living possible on that wild purple upland waste.

   1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 1, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC

   Through the brazen hours that followed high noon, we crept onwards through a tunnel of glittering verdure.

   1952, Norman Lewis, Golden Earth

   This is itself a cheerless spot, particularly on a rainy day, when, overshadowed by the great massif of rock that towers in the background, and surrounded by the grey and cheerless quarries, it has a depressing character much in contrast with the green verdure encountered on the northern end of this interesting branch line.

   1954 August, H. M. Madgwick, “The Blaenau Festiniog Tunnel”, in Railway Magazine, page 569

   Synonyms: verdancy, greenliness, greenth

2. broadlycountableuncountableA condition of health and vigour.

present singular third person verdures · participle present verduring · participle past verdured · past verdured

1. transitiveTo cover with verdure.