Luscious

WORD OF THE DAY

luscious / adjective / LUSH-us

Definition
1a: having a delicious taste or smell
1b: sweet
1c (archaic): excessively sweet
1d: cloying
2a: sexually attractive
2b: seductive, sexy
3a: richly luxurious or appealing to the senses
3b: excessively ornate

Example
“There are countless avenues to flavoring a pot of beans; this one, with the addition of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and a bit of tomato paste, will lead the beans to a slightly spicy, slightly smoky place rendering them hearty and flavorful enough to be the star of the plate. ... Drizzling in a little additional olive oil to the vegetable stock will give you a very luscious, delicious pot liquor, or broth.”
— Andrea Aliseda, Whetstone Magazine, 16 May 2022

The property, which the actress purchased for $2.75 million in 2009, includes hundreds of olive, avocado, and citrus trees, a gorgeous adobe hacienda, detached guesthouse, luscious floral gardens and a walk-in chicken coop.
—Brenda Richardson, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022

Did You Know?
Have you ever heard a young child describe a favorite food as “licius” instead of “delicious”?
Back in the Middle Ages, the word licius was sometimes used as a shortened form of delicious by adults and kids alike.
Linguists believe that luscious may have developed when licius (which comes from the Latin verb delicere, meaning “to entice by charm or attraction”) was further altered to lucius by 15th-century speakers.
The adjective lush can sometimes mean “delicious” as well but is not a shortened form of luscious, having developed on its own from the Middle English lusch, meaning “soft or tender.”