Word of the Day

: December 3, 2006

gourmand

noun GOOR-mahnd

What It Means

1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking

2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink

gourmand in Context

Jason trusted the discriminating palate of his Uncle Gerald, a gourmand who is well acquainted with the area's best restaurants.

Did You Know?

"What God has plagu'd us with this gormaund guest?" As this exasperated question from Alexander Pope's 18th-century translation of Homer's Odyssey suggests, being a gourmand is not necessarily a good thing. When "gourmand" began appearing in English texts in the 15th century, it was a decidedly bad thing, a synonym of "glutton" that was reserved for a greedy eater who consumed well past satiation. That negative connotation remained until English speakers borrowed the similar-sounding (and much more positive) "gourmet" from French in the 19th century. Since then, the meaning of "gourmand" has softened, so that although it still isn't wholly flattering, it now suggests someone who likes good food in large quantities rather than a slobbering glutton.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.