embonpoint

English

WOTD – 10 June 2011

Etymology

Borrowed from French embonpoint.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: äɴbôɴpwĕɴ, IPA(key): /ɑ̃bɔ̃pwɛ̃/
    • (file)

Noun

embonpoint (countable and uncountable, plural embonpoints)

  1. Plumpness, stoutness, especially when voluptuous.
    • 1911, J.M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy:
      She was slightly inclined to embonpoint.
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, [], OCLC 560090630:
      The beautiful woman threw off her sabletrimmed wrap, displaying her queenly shoulders and heaving embonpoint.
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 1:
      The patient's physicians had always allowed him to indulge a gargantuan appetite, countering his intake and regulating his embonpoint by a heroic diet of purges and enemas.

Translations

Adjective

embonpoint (comparative more embonpoint, superlative most embonpoint)

  1. Plump, chubby, buxom.
    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. [], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, [], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 294:
      "Though it is six years since I have seen you," exclaimed Anne, "you are not the least altered; instead of that, you are handsomer than ever; your being rather more embonpoint suits you, and your complexion is brilliant to a degree."
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:overweight, Thesaurus:voluptuous

Translations


French

Etymology

Univerbation of en bon point.

The rule in French is to write /n/ as /m/ in front of /m, p/ or /b/ - here the rule is applied to the first /n/ but not the second since the rule does not apply to the words derived from bon : bonbon, bonbonne and bonbonnière.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑ̃.bɔ̃.pwɛ̃/
  • (file)

Noun

embonpoint m (plural embonpoints)

  1. plumpness, stoutness
    Synonyms: obésité, surpoids
    • 1844, Honoré de Balzac, Modeste Mignon:
      Quoique La Brière fût alors mince, il appartient à ce genre de tempéraments qui, formés tard, prennent à trente ans un embonpoint inattendu.
      (please add an English translation of this quote)
    • 1924, Emmanuel Bove, Mes Amis:
      La patronne s’appelle Lucie Dunois. Son nom, en majuscules d’émail, est cimenté au vitrage de la devanture. Il manque trois lettres. Lucie a l’embonpoint d’un buveur de bière.
      (please add an English translation of this quote)

Further reading


Swedish

Alternative forms

  • embonpoäng

Etymology

Borrowed from French embonpoint.

Noun

embonpoint c

  1. embonpoint

Declension

Declension of embonpoint 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative embonpoint embonpointen
Genitive embonpoints embonpointens

References

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