DELIQUESCENT

deliquescent

(adjective) (especially of certain salts) becoming liquid by absorbing moisture from the air

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

deliquescent (comparative more deliquescent, superlative most deliquescent)

Seeming to melt away.

Synonyms: melting, disappearing

(chemistry) Absorbing moisture from the air and forming a solution.

(botany) Branching so that the stem is lost in branches, as in most deciduous trees.

(mycology, of the fruiting body of a fungus) Becoming liquid as a phase of its life cycle.

Source: Wiktionary

Del`i*ques"cent, a. Etym: [L. deliquescens, -entis, p. pr. of deliquescere: cf. F. déliquescent.]

1. Dissolving; liquefying by contact with the air; capable of attracting moisture from the atmosphere and becoming liquid; as, deliquescent salts.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: Branching so that the stem is lost in branches, as in most deciduous trees. Gray.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition