delicious

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun variety of sweet eating apples
  2. adjective greatly pleasing or entertaining
  3. adjective extremely pleasing to the sense of taste

Etymology

From Middle English delicious, from Anglo-Norman delicious, from Old French delicious, delicieux, from Late Latin dēliciōsus (“delicate, delicious”), from dēliciae (“delights”), plural of dēlicia (“pleasure”), from delicere (“to allure, to entice”), from de- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Displaced native Old English ārlīċ (“delicious”).

In classic literature

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading