efflorescence

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from French efflorescence, from Latin efflōrēscō (from ex- (“out”) + flōrēscō (“to blossom”)) + -ence. By surface analysis, effloresce + -ence.

1. The production of flowers.
2. Rapid flowering of a culture or civilisation etc.

   “1919, a time when African American hopes for a just future following their service in World War I were dashed by violent reassertions of white supremacy, including the efflorescence and expansion of the KKK into the Midwestern and northwestern U.S.”

3. The formation of a powdery surface on crystals, as a hydrate is converted to anhydrous form by losing loosely bound water of crystallization to the atmosphere.
4. An encrustation of soluble salts, commonly white, deposited on the surface of stone, brick, plaster, or mortar; usually caused by free alkalies leached from mortar or adjacent concrete as moisture moves through it.
5. An encrustation of soluble salts, deposited on rock or soil by evaporation; often found in arid or geothermal environments.

   “I’d hoped that when the black hole of the Donald Trump presidency ended, redirected energy might allow for a cultural efflorescence. So far that hasn’t happened.”

6. A redness, rash, or eruption on the skin.