epicure

American  

[ep-i-kyoor] / ˈɛp ɪˌkyʊər /

noun

1. a person who cultivates a refined taste, especially in food and wine; connoisseur.

   Synonyms:

   epicurean , gourmet , gastronome

   Antonyms:

   ascetic

2. Archaic.  a person dedicated to sensual enjoyment.

   Synonyms:

   gourmand , sensualist , voluptuary

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epicure British  

/ ˈɛpɪˌkjʊə /

noun

1. a person who cultivates a discriminating palate for the enjoyment of good food and drink; gourmet

2. a person devoted to sensual pleasures

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Other Word Forms

• epicurism noun

Etymology

Origin of epicure

1350–1400 for earlier sense; 1555–65 epicure for def. 2; Middle English Epicures, Epicureis Epicureans (plural) < Latin Epicūrēus (singular) ( epicurean )

Example Sentences

As French epicure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin famously put it, “Tell me what you eat: I will tell you what you are.”

From Washington Post

Connie is an epicure, a gourmand, a bon vivant, a lover and appreciator of fine food and drink.

From Salon

The neighborhood is a treasure trove for the epicure or chef.

From Washington Post

It was the French epicure Brillat-Savarin who noted: “I have drawn the following inference, that the limits of pleasure are as yet neither known nor fixed.”

From New York Times

The point is to make food that people want to eat, and these are teenage boys, not epicures.

From New York Times