word of the day: fugacious

The word of the day is fugacious:

Etymology:  < Latin fugāci-, fugax ( < fugĕre to flee) + -ous suffix.

1. Apt to flee away or flit.

a. Of immaterial things: Tending to disappear, of short duration; evanescent, fleeting, transient, fugitive. 

b. Of persons: †Ready to run away. Also humorously (of persons), fleeing; (of things) slippery. rare. 

c. Of a material substance: Volatile. 

2. Bot. and Zool. Falling or fading early; soon cast off. (OED) 

 

 

"The oxygen fugacity of the deepest rock samples from Earth’s mantle is found to be more oxidized than previously thought, with the result that carbon in the asthenospheric mantle will be hosted as graphite or diamond but will be oxidized to produce carbonate melt through the reduction of Fe³⁺ in silicate minerals during upwelling."

 

 - Vincenzo Stagno et al., "The oxidation state of the mantle and the extraction of carbon from Earth's interior", Nature 493:84 (3 January 2013), doi:10.1038/nature11679