lickerish

adjective

lick·​er·​ish ˈli-k(ə-)rish 

1

: greedy, desirous

2

obsolete : tempting to the appetite

3

: lecherous

lickerishly adverb

lickerishness noun

Did you know?

In Anglo-French, the verb lecher has two meanings, "to lick" and "to live in debauchery." From that verb came the English adjective lickerous in the 14th century. By the mid-17th century lickerous had fallen into disuse, leaving us with the variant lickerish. Lickerish was originally cooked up as word to describe both a person who is fond of good food and the tempting food itself. The lexical temptation to extend these appetitive meanings of lickerish was very soon satisfied, and the word became a synonym of "greedy" and "desirous." Its use was then extended to describe people and things having or suggesting lustful desires, a use in line with the "to live in debauchery" meaning of its French ancestor.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of lickerous, from Middle English likerous, probably modification of Anglo-French *lekerous, lecherus lecherous, from lechur lecher

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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