This adjective describes dryness and dimness, often applied to parched landscapes or rough, squalid conditions. Peter uses it metaphorically for prophecy as a lamp shining 'in a dark place' until the day dawns (2 Pet 1:19). The word evokes the murky, shadowy quality of a dry, unilluminated space—whether physical drought or moral gloom. Classical Greek uses it for dry climates, rough terrain, and even disheveled hair. The New Testament appropriates this atmospheric term for spiritual illumination breaking into darkness.