caducity

[ kuh-doo-si-tee, -dyoo- ]
See synonyms for caducity on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Archaic. the infirmity or weakness of old age; senility.

  2. Literary. the quality of being perishable or transitory: the caducity of life.

Origin of caducity

1
First recorded in 1760–70; from French caducité, equivalent to caduc caducous + -ité -ity

Words Nearby caducity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caducity in a sentence

  • Magpies, crows, and jays, evince symptoms of caducity at the same age.

  • Pensive musings upon the caducity of the human race are, generally, rather feminine than masculine.

    Red as a Rose is She | Rhoda Broughton
  • Let us deduct even from old age the years of infancy, the years of caducity, and the years of sleep,—alas!

    Curiosities of Medical Experience | J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen
  • The "caducity" and "persistency" of floral envelopes furnish some valuable characteristics for the distinction of species.

    Everyday Objects | W. H. Davenport Adams

British Dictionary definitions for caducity

caducity

/ (kəˈdjuːsɪtɪ) /


noun
  1. perishableness

  2. senility

Origin of caducity

1
C18: from French, from Latin cadūcus caducous

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012