xanthic \ZAN-thik\,
adjective:
1. of or pertaining to a yellow or yellowish color.
2. Chemistry. of or derived from xanthine or xanthic acid.
Is this stuff air that permits you to suffocate still, almost audibly at times, it's possible, a kind of air. What exactly is going on, exactly, ah old xanthic laugh, no, farewell mirth, good riddance, it was never droll.
-- Samuel Beckett, "Texts for Nothing," Stories and Texts for Nothing, 1950-1952
I'd seen it, this time, from the end of my row, xanthic, luminous. I stood above it, my hands on my hips like an outraged housewife confronted with an unexpected mess.
-- Erica Wagner, "Gravity," 1997
Xanthic entered English in the 1800s from the Greek term xanthos meaning "yellow."
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