luscious
English
Alternative forms
- lushious (obsolete)
Etymology
From earlier lushious, lussyouse (“luscious, richly sweet, delicious”), a corruption of *lustious, from lusty (“pleasant, delicious”) + -ous. Shakespeare uses both lush (short for lushious) and lusty in the same sense: "How lush and lusty the grass looks" (The Tempest ii. I.52).
An alternative etymology connects luscious to a Middle English term: lucius, an alteration of licious, believed to be a shortening of delicious.
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ʌʃəs
Adjective
luscious (comparative more luscious, superlative most luscious)
- sweet and pleasant; delicious
- 1863, H.S. Thompson, Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden
- Her lips were like two luscious beefsteaks.
- 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz
- There were lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits.
- 1863, H.S. Thompson, Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden
- sexually appealing; seductive
- 1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of Fanny Hill: A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text
- With one hand he gently disclosed the lips of that luscious mouth of nature.
- 1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of Fanny Hill: A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text
- obscene
- 1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of Fanny Hill: A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text
- Hitherto I had been indebted only to the girls of the house for the corruption of my innocence: their luscious talk, in which modesty was far from respected.
- 1749, John Cleland, Memoirs of Fanny Hill: A New and Genuine Edition from the Original Text
Translations
sweet and pleasant
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sexually appealing
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obscene
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