Word of the Day for Saturday, September 5, 2009

voluptuary \vuh-LUHP-choo-er-ee\, noun:

1. A person devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites; a sensualist.

adjective:
1. Of, pertaining to, or characterized by preoccupation with luxury and sensual pleasure.

Colette used to begin her day's writing by first picking fleas from her cat, and it's not hard to imagine how the methodical stroking and probing into fur might have focused such a voluptuary's mind.
-- Diane Ackerman, "O Muse! You Do Make Things Difficult!", New York Times, November 12, 1989

Though depicted as a decadent voluptuary, she remained celibate for more than half of her adult life.
-- Michiko Kakutani, "Cleopatra Behind Her Magic Mirror", New York Times, June 5, 1990

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, on the other hand, is more of a voluptuary, taking conscious pleasure in its own reflected richness.
-- Bernard Holland, "Robo-Fish Are Ready to Take to the Seas", New York Times, October 30, 1989

Voluptuary derives from Latin voluptarius, "devoted to pleasure," from voluptas, "pleasure."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for voluptuary

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