Adarce, n. (Gr.) A saltish concretion on reeds and grass in marshy grounds in Galatia. It is lax and porous, like bastard spunge, and used to clear the skin in leprosy, tetters, &c.
My trusty Google failed me on this one. Oh, it gave me about a thousand dictionary sites with variants of the definition but then it veered off and started giving me links for dating sites, golf resort hotels, and translations of words in Spanish and Portuguese. It even asked me if I meant aparece instead - the nerve! ;)
I'm really rather disappointed. I really wanted to know more about this saltish concretion: its origin, the history of its use, whether it was effective or not, what replaced it as a treatment and why, and so on and so forth. But, alas, it appears that I will never know. So, without the further ado of interesting or related information (because it doesn't exist, or if it does, I don't know where its hidden), I give you the storyline this lax and porus substance inspired.
"No one knew where she had come from. All they knew is that one day she was there, standing at the door.
She was a little thing, wild and deserted in appearance, with large, pleading eyes. Her skin bore the distinctive marks of leprosy and so she was welcomed into the place. It was a home for lepers, set far away from other human beings, near a marshland in Galatia. Five years passed. She began to take the shape of a woman and her tongue, once silent, now ran with kindness. She spent her days caring for the other lepers, spreading adarce on their limbs with a gentle touch that did more to heal than the spunge.
Still, no one knew where she had come from. In all those past years, she never spoke of a father or mother or any other relation or friend. She did not speak of how she had come to the leper house, or how she had lived before. All they knew is that she was there. And that was all that mattered."
My trusty Google failed me on this one. Oh, it gave me about a thousand dictionary sites with variants of the definition but then it veered off and started giving me links for dating sites, golf resort hotels, and translations of words in Spanish and Portuguese. It even asked me if I meant aparece instead - the nerve! ;)
I'm really rather disappointed. I really wanted to know more about this saltish concretion: its origin, the history of its use, whether it was effective or not, what replaced it as a treatment and why, and so on and so forth. But, alas, it appears that I will never know. So, without the further ado of interesting or related information (because it doesn't exist, or if it does, I don't know where its hidden), I give you the storyline this lax and porus substance inspired.
"No one knew where she had come from. All they knew is that one day she was there, standing at the door.
She was a little thing, wild and deserted in appearance, with large, pleading eyes. Her skin bore the distinctive marks of leprosy and so she was welcomed into the place. It was a home for lepers, set far away from other human beings, near a marshland in Galatia. Five years passed. She began to take the shape of a woman and her tongue, once silent, now ran with kindness. She spent her days caring for the other lepers, spreading adarce on their limbs with a gentle touch that did more to heal than the spunge.
Still, no one knew where she had come from. In all those past years, she never spoke of a father or mother or any other relation or friend. She did not speak of how she had come to the leper house, or how she had lived before. All they knew is that she was there. And that was all that mattered."
Very nice. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting word. I love your Word for Wednesday posts. I'm always up for expanding my vocab. ")
Thank you, Cherie! I'm really enjoying writing them :)
ReplyDeleteA very interesting word! :)
ReplyDelete