Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun, plural aq·uae [ak-wee, ah-kwee] /ˈæk wi, ˈɑ kwi/, aq·uas.
- Chiefly Pharmacology.
- a light greenish-blue color.
adjective
- having the color aqua.
- variant of aqui-.
noun plural aquae (ˈækwiː) or aquas
- water: used in compound names of certain liquid substances (as in aqua regia) or solutions of substances in water (as in aqua ammoniae), esp in the names of pharmacological solutions
adjective
- short for aquamarine (def. 2)
“water,” late 14c.; see aqua-. Used in late Middle English in combinations to mean “decoction, solution” (cf. aqua regia, a mix of concentrated acids, literally “royal water,” so called for its power to dissolve gold and other “noble” metals). As the name of a light greenish-blue color, 1936.
word-forming element meaning “water,” from Latin aqua “water; the sea; rain,” cognate with Proto-Germanic *akhwo, source of Old English ea “river,” Gothic ahua “river, waters,” Old Norse Ægir, name of the sea-god, Old English ieg “island;” all from PIE *akwa- “water” (cf. Sanskrit ap “water,” Hittite akwanzi “they drink,” Lithuanian uppe “a river”).