apricate

/ˈæpɹɪkeɪt/

Etymology

From Latin apricus (“sunny, having lots of sunshine; warmed by the sun”) + -ate. Apricus is derived from aperiō (“to open; to uncover”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“off, from”) + *h₂wer- (“to cover, shut”)) + -cus (suffix forming relational adjectives from nouns). Not cognate with apricot, although the latter term was also influenced by apricus.

Why this word is great

APRICATE — [Verb] To bask in the sun or to disinfect and freshen by exposing to sunlight. From Latin apricus ("sunny, warmed by the sun"), derived from aperiō ("to open, uncover") + -cus (relational adjective suffix). Unlike "sunbathe" (which implies deliberate exposure for tanning or relaxation) or "shelter" (which means to protect from the sun), "apricate" carries both the idle pleasure and the quiet utility of sunlight. It is the cat stretched like liquid gold on a windowsill, the laundry stiffening on the line with the scent of wind and light, the old books laid open in the yard to air their yellowed pages—a word that captures the slow, necessary alchemy of turning sunlight into solace or salvation.

verb

To bask in the sun.“Cats like to apricate.”
To disinfect and freshen by exposing to the sun; to sun.“No longer were social parties the old heraldic solemnities enjoyed by red letters in the almanac, in which the chief objects were to discharge some arrear of ceremonious debt, or to ventilate old velvets, or to apricate and refresh old gouty systems and old traditions of feudal ostentation, which both alike suffered and grew smoke-dried under too rigorous a seclusion.”