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gormandize: msg#00007culture.language.word-of-the-day
**************************************************************** You don't have to go back to school to gain access to the latest language information! Try a free trial subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged! http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged_sub.pl?refr=U_wod **************************************************************** The Word of the Day for September 8 is: gormandize \GOR-mun-dyze\ verb : to eat gluttonously or ravenously Example sentence: Lady Baleforth watched in horror as Lord Hoggwood gormandized the hors d'oeuvres, polishing off the entire lot before any of the other guests even arrived. Did you know? "Gormandize" entered English in the mid-1500s as a modification of "gourmand," a term borrowed from the French that served as a synonym for "glutton." The meanings of both "gourmand" and "gormandize" were clearly disparaging until the 19th century, when "gourmet" came into use to refer to a connoisseur of food and drink. Since then, the meaning of "gourmand" has softened, so that it now suggests someone who likes good food in large quantities but not in a way that is disgusting or gluttonous. "Gormandize" still carries such negative connotations, but it does also imply that a big eater has a discriminating palate as well as a generous appetite. |
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