gluttonous

English

Etymology

From Middle English glotenose, glotenouse, glotonos, glotonous, glotounius, glotynous, from Middle French glotonos; equivalent to glutton +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡlʌt(ə)nəs/
• Hyphenation: glut‧ton‧ous

Adjective

gluttonous (comparative more gluttonous, superlative most gluttonous)

1. Given to excessive eating; prone to overeating.

   Synonyms: gluttonish, gluttonly

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Matthew 11:19:

     Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.

2. Greedy.
   • c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Then they could smile and fawn upon his debts,
     And take down the interest into their gluttonous maws.

   • 1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Higher Laws”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 231:

     ["]The voracious caterpillar when transformed into a butterfly," … "and the gluttonous maggot when become a fly," content themselves with a drop or two of honey or some other sweet liquid.

   • 1892, Walt Whitman, “Birds of Passage: Pioneers! O Pioneers!”, in Leaves of Grass , Philadelphia, Pa.: David McKay, publisher, , →OCLC, page 185:

     Do the feasters gluttonous feast? / Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors? / Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, / Pioneers! O pioneers!

   • 1914, Robert W. Service, The Call:

     Look your last on your dearest ones,
     Brothers and husbands, fathers, sons:
     Swift they go to the ravenous guns, / The gluttonous guns of War.

   • 1929, H.P. Lovecraft, Fungi from Yuggoth:

     One day the mail-man found no village there, / Nor were its folk or houses seen again; / People came out from Aylesbury to stare – / Yet they all told the mail-man it was plain / That he was mad for saying he had spied / The great hill's gluttonous eyes, and jaws stretched wide.

Related terms

• glutton
• gluttonously
• gluttony

Translations