voluptuous
pronunciation
How to pronounce voluptuous in British English:
UK [vəˈlʌptʃuəs]
How to pronounce voluptuous in American English:
US [vəˈlʌptʃuəs]
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- Adjective:
- having strong sexual appeal
- (of a woman's body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves
- furnishing gratification of the senses
Word Origin
- voluptuous
- voluptuous: [14] Voluptuous goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *wol-, *wel- ‘be pleasing’, which also produced English volunteer and will. From it was descended the Latin adverb volup ‘agreeably’, from which were derived in turn the noun voluptās ‘pleasure’ and the adjective voluptuōsus ‘giving pleasure’. In its transmission via Old French voluptueux to English, it acquired additional connotations of ‘sensual pleasure’.=> volition
- voluptuous (adj.)
- late 14c., "of or pertaining to desires or appetites," from Old French voluptueux, volumptueuse and directly from Latin voluptuosus "full of pleasure, delightful," from voluptas "pleasure, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction," from volup "pleasurably," perhaps ultimately related to velle "to wish," from PIE *wel- (2) "to wish, will" (see will (v.)). Meaning "addicted to sensual pleasure" is recorded from mid-15c. Sense of "suggestive of sensual pleasure" is attested from 1816 (Byron); especially in reference to feminine beauty from 1839. Related: Voluptuously; voluptuousness.
Example
- 1. The spanish born star is known for her voluptuous figure .
- 2. Sometimes bawdy humor , flamboyant dress sense and voluptuous figure .
- 3. Every woman listed claims to be at least voluptuous .
- 4. Whereof the former was indeed a voluptuous man , and inordinate .
- 5. Many southerners rather enjoy ads involving voluptuous women dancing suggestively .