Word of the Day

: May 18, 2017

luscious

adjective LUSH-us

What It Means

1 : having a delicious sweet taste or smell

2 : sexually attractive

3 a : richly luxurious or appealing to the senses

b : excessively ornate

luscious in Context

"Stockman's abstract paintings … are simple yet luscious, with thick, sensuous, curved shapes in intense, vibrating hues." — Steffie Nelson, W, February 2017

"His exhortations of umami—that luscious, satisfying flavor, not exactly savory or sweet or sour or bitter, that the Japanese were the first to identify—whetted my curiosity. One night at dinner, a chef prepared a special batch of dashi—the umami-drenched base stock of Japanese soups—before my eyes, so I could observe and taste its alchemy as it brewed." — Liesl Schillinger, Vogue, March 2017

Did You Know?

Have you ever heard a young child say something is "licius" when he or she really means it's "delicious"? Back in the Middle Ages, the word licius was sometimes used as a shortened form of delicious by adults and kids alike. Linguists believe that luscious developed when licius was further altered to lucius by 15th-century speakers. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin verb delicere, meaning "to entice by charm or attraction." The adjective lush, which can sometimes mean "delicious" as well, is not a shortened form of luscious; it derived on its own from the Middle English lusch, meaning "soft or tender."