Word of the Day

Monday July 27, 2009

corpulent [KOR-pyuh-luhnt]

adjective

Very fat; obese; bulky.

To the show's credit, the plug sends a mixed message: Big Mike is corpulent, an ambiguous spokesman for Subway, a company that positions itself as fast food for the weight-conscious.

Alessandra Stanley, "Commercials You Can't Zap", New York Times, Jun 7, 2009
But mostly what made the flamboyant, corpulent showman such an asset was his flair for publicity. Beacher had feuds with PETA, the city of Boston and Donald Trump; all generated headlines.

Richard Abowitz, "THE MOVABLE BUFFET; A self-aware Criss Angel; The magician waxes ecstatic about Madame Tussauds' new bling-covered rendering of him", Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2009
And there sits a great yellow cat upon a window-sill, a very corpulent and comfortable cat, gazing at this transitory world, with owl's eyes, and making pithy comments, doubtless, or what appear such, to the silly beast.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) American novelist and short story writer. Twice Told Tales Little Annie's Ramble (1837)

Origin of the Word

Corpulent, approximtely 1398, derives from Old French corpulent "stout, fat," from Latin corpulentus "fleshy, fat," from corpus "body"+ -ulentus "full of."