Word of the Day

: May 6, 2009

embonpoint

noun ahng-bohng-PWANG (the "ng" is never pronounced, but the vowels a

What It Means

: plumpness of person : stoutness

embonpoint in Context

The judge was a man of stately embonpoint who walked with a heavy step as he entered the courtroom.

Did You Know?

"Embonpoint" is most often used to describe people of heavy, but not unattractive, girth. It derives from "en bon point," a phrase from Middle French that means "in good condition." The word was first used as a noun in English in the 17th century. It has subsequently appeared in works by Charlotte Brontë ("a form decidedly inclined to embonpoint" -- Shirley), James Fenimore Cooper ("an embonpoint that was just sufficient to distinguish her from most of her companions" -- Home as Found), and George Eliot ("as erect in her comely embonpoint as a statue of Ceres" -- Adam Bede), among others.