ADVENTITIOUS

Adventitious, adj. Also adventicious. [f. L. adventici-us, in med.L. corruptly written adventiti-us, coming to us from abroad + -ous: see Advent, and -itious). The occas. adventicious is etymologically a better spelling.] OED.

Semantic identity: French: Adventice; Spanish: Adventicio.

1. Of the nature of an addition from without; extrinsically added, not essentially inherent; supervenient, accidental, casual. Cf. the obs. adventive. OED.

Greek […] was an adventitious, no mother-language to them. Howell (Lett.) 1630 OED

Our Thames […] is tainted with an infinite variety of adventitious bodies from the streets. C. Lucas (Ess. on Waters) 1756 OED

When a man first strips himself of adventitious wrappages; and sees indeed that he is naked. Carlyle (Sart. Res.) 1831 OED

An adventitious population accumulated in Attica. Grote (Greece) 1846 OED

The character of the Syrian monarch does by no means stand in need of any adventitious embollishment. E. Poe. (Estéf.)


2. Law. (See quot. 1751.) OED.

Adventitious, in the Civil Law, is applied to such goods as fall to a man, either by mere fortune, or by the liberality of a stranger, or by collateral, not direct succession. In this sense the word stands opposed to Profectitious; by which are signified such goods as descend in a direct line. 1751 Chambers (Cycl.) OED

A dowry is either profecticious, that is, given by the woman's father, or adventicious, given by some other person. Muirhead (Ulpian) 1880 OED


3. Nat. Hist. Appearing casually, or out of the normal or usual place, esp. in Bot. of roots, shoots, buds, etc. produced in unusual parts of the plant. OED.

Like all adventitious organic products, cicatrices are very readily irritated. Todd (Cycl. Anat. & Phys.) 1836 OED

Even leaves may develop adventitious buds. Gray (Struct. Bot.) 1842 OED

The celebrated Banyan tree, remarkable for the enormous extension of its crown by means of adventitious roots. Oliver (Elem. Bot.) 1872 OED