Word: Embonpoint

February 06, 2004

I like this word! What can you do with it?

embonpoint \ahn-bohn-PWAN (vowels all pronounced nasally)\ noun

: plumpness of person : stoutness

Did you know?
"Embonpoint" is most often used to describe people of heavy, but not necessarily unattractive, girth. It derives from "en bon point," a phrase from Middle French that means "in good condition." The word was first used as a noun in English in the 17th century. It has subsequently appeared in works by Charlotte Brontë ("a form decidedly inclined to embonpoint" — Shirley), James Fenimore Cooper ("an embonpoint that was just sufficient to distinguish her from most of her companions" — Home as Found), and George Eliot ("as erect in her comely embonpoint as a statue of Ceres" — Adam Bede), among others.

My sentence:
Michael had an especially strong attraction to women who were noted for their embonpoint.

Comments

[Anne]

Actually I was being goofy. em BON POINT. Get it?

[Cyn]

Come back when you remember. :)

[Anne]

I had a really good point to make, but I forgot it. No clue.