Word of the Day

: April 11, 2009

lickerish

adjective LIK-uh-rish

What It Means

1 : greedy, desirous

2 : lecherous

lickerish in Context

"Fiend," cried the undaunted maiden, slapping the face of her lickerish captor.

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.