embonpoint
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of embonpoint
From French, dating back to 1655–65, literally, in good condition
Explanation
Embonpoint is a fancy way to talk about someone's curvy or plump figure. Embonpoint, pronounced "ahm-bohn-PWAH," is, you guessed it, French in origin. It comes from the phrase "en bon point," which literally means "in good shape." Embonpoint is generally a compliment, not a criticism — it doesn't mean overweight or fat. You can use embonpoint as a noun or as an adjective: "Your embonpoint friend looks wonderfully curvy in her new dress." Although this word is usually used to describe bodies, the Romantic poet John Keats takes some poetic license when he describes eating a nectarine: “It went down soft, pulpy, slushy, oozy — all its delicious embonpoint melted down my throat like a large beatified Strawberry.”
Vocabulary lists containing embonpoint
Peter Pan
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English Words Derived from French, List 10
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The Age of Innocence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She was rather inclined to EMBONPOINT, but not more than became her age, of apparently thirty years.
From Redgauntlet by Scott, Walter, Sir
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied, that upon the whole they are hereditarily entitled to EMBONPOINT.
From Moby Dick, or, the whale by Melville, Herman
The Widow Ducrot had promised it to Paillard, he of the prosperous commission business, the prominent EMBONPOINT, and four children.
From Billy and the Big Stick by Davis, Richard Harding
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
