pulverulence means the state or characteristic of being powdery or dusty. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “pulverulence” is a great word
PULVERULENCE — [Noun] The state or quality of being powdery or dusty, or the fine, dry particles produced by the disintegration of a solid. From Latin pulverulentus ("dusty, powdery"), from pulvis ("dust"), plus the English suffix -ence forming abstract nouns. First attested in 1727. Unlike "powder" (which denotes the substance itself) or "grit" (which implies coarse, abrasive grains), pulverulence is the abstract condition of exquisite, airborne dissolution. It is the spectral bloom on a moth’s wing, the ghost raised from a chalkboard eraser, and the golden aureole suspended in a sunbeam piercing a neglected attic—the quiet, continual surrender of all solid things to memory and air.
Etymology
By surface analysis, pulver + -ule + -ence.
noun
- The state or characteristic of being powdery or dusty.“There are rock varieties with different degrees of decomposition and pulverulence.”
- Fine, dry particles produced by the grinding, crushing, or disintegration of a solid substance.