Lost Word Of The Day (49)

Rain showers seem to be fewer but more intense. There is a dip underneath a bridge close to where I live which frequently fills up with water after rain or, more often, because of an ever-present water leak. As I approach the dip, I always worry about its vadosity.

A 17th century word derived from the Latin noun vadum meaning ford, it means being fordable or shallow enough to wade, or in a 21st century context, to drive or cycle through. The antiquarian schoolmaster, William Burton, used it in his A commentary on Antoninus – a signed first edition yours for £550 through Abe Books – “the word Ford, by reason of the vadosity of the River there, being added…”