adj. 1. Biology Covered with short, fine whitish or grayish hairs or down; hoary. 2. Turning white or grayish. [Latin cānēscēns, cānēscent-, present participle of cānēscere, inchoative of cānēre, to be white, from cānus, white; see kas- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ca·nescence n. |
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