-itious

1. Referring to an addition from without; extrinsically added: The adventitious population in the big city is due to people coming from many different countries from around the world, while the minority of the population was born there.
2. Regarding something that appears sporadically, or out of the normal place: Jane noticed in her garden that some of the flowers she had planted in the fall were evidently quite adventitious and were suddenly appearing in a completely different spot!
3. Not natural or hereditary; pertaining to a growth in an unexpected place on a plant: Examples of such adventitious developments on organisms are roots that form on stems, an increase of hair where it usually is not found, or the development of a plant in a foreign habitat.

Adventitious roots, shoots, buds, etc. are produced in unusual parts of the plant.

1. Descriptive of something that is prompt, speedy, immediate, and efficient: This emergency warning of an epidemic requires expeditious action so more people can avoid getting sick.
2. A reference to an answer that is quickly given: Jim gave his mother an expeditious response to her question as he was leaving to catch his bus to go to school.
3. Etymology: whenever anyone is expeditious (fast) about doing anything, it is because that person's feet are not tied up. This is because the Latin word pes (a stem of ped) means "foot" and ex means "out of".

1. Relating to not being true or genuine, and intended to deceive or used for tricking people.
2. Pertaining to being invented by someone's imagination; especially, as part of a work of fiction.
3. Referring to not being genuinely believed or felt; a sham: Margaret greeted her brother with fictitious enthusiasm.
4. Etymology: as a type of literature, about 1599: fictitious is from about 1615; from Middle Latin fictitus, a misspelling of Latin ficticius, "artificial, counterfeit"; from fictus, past participle of fingere.