Deciduous is an adjective that means ephemeral or temporary.

Our word of the day is derived from the Latin word cadere (cah DARE ay) which means ‘fall.’ The addition of the prefix D-E gets us to a word that means ‘fall off’ or ‘fall away.’ When something eventually falls off, it is considered temporary.

The success I had in ping pong was deciduous. It was only a matter of time before my skills deteriorated and I simply wasn’t a great player anymore.